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TODAY

South Korean consumers have called for a boycott of bakery chain Paris Baguette, after an alleged mishandling of the death of a 23-year-old employee who was crushed by a mixing machine at its factory.
On October 15, an unnamed female employee was reportedly working the graveyard shift and had been operating a sauce mixer alone at the company’s factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province when her upper body was pulled into the machine.
Co-workers discovered her the next day and helped to pull her mangled body from the machine, local media reported.
Instead of suspending operations, Paris Baguette resumed production the next day. Posts on social media alleged that the machine was merely covered with a white sheet and factory employees were instructed to get back to work next to the accident site.
Korean owners of Paris Baguette lose billions by taking on the world
Critics also said that the mixing machine should have been operated by at least two people.
The company’s response to the incident as well as the alleged safety lapses have sparked nationwide boycotts and protests in South Korea against Paris Baguette and its parent company SPC Group.
SPC Group is a food conglomerate that owns Paris Baguette and operates large global brands in the country, including Dunkin’ Donuts, Egg Slut, Shake Shack and Baskin Robbins.
Anger towards the company was incited even further after it was revealed that representatives tried to negotiate a settlement with the deceased employee’s family on the night of her funeral.
The victim’s mother said that company representatives had offered a settlement in exchange for not pressing any charges, Asian-American website Next Shark reported.
The woman, however, refused and reportedly engaged a lawyer the next day.
The bakery was also slammed for sending bread for the funeral’s guests, which an SPC Group spokesperson later explained was part of a care package given when an employee or their family member dies.
The victim’s mother told South Korean broadcaster MBC: “How can they send bread from the place where she died? Does that make any sense?”

Online users in South Korea lambasted the company for the perceived insensitive gesture.
“She was killed at a bread factory. Even the thought of bread would cause the family sadness,” one user wrote. ‘Why would they send the family bread? Are they psychopaths?”
Another person commented: “I’m at a loss for words. I can’t believe they disrespected the deceased as if it’s nothing. Did they not think they would hurt the family with this gesture?”
Just a week before the incident, an SPC employee’s hand was caught in a production line machine, the Korea Times reported. However, the company did not send the worker to the hospital for treatment because the person was a temporary employee on a three-month contract.
Following news of the incident, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on October 16 ordered an inquiry into the details of the employee’s death.
A day later, SPC Group’s chairman Huh Young-in publicly apologised at a press conference, admitting that making employees work at the accident site was wrong and “inexcusable”.
South Korean students slammed for suing cleaners over ‘noisy’ protests
The group also pledged to invest 100 billion won (US$70.2 million) to improve workplace safety over the next three years.
Despite the public apology, labour unionists and members of the public banded together on October 20 to stage a memorial ceremony in front of the company’s headquarters. One-person protests were also held in front of 1,000 Paris Baguette stores in the country.
Calls to boycott the bakery chain have spread beyond South Korean shores, too.
On October 20, France’s General Confederation of Labour paid tribute to the victim by holding a demonstration in front of a Paris Baguette outlet in Paris.
Twitter users have also been sharing images of maps detailing the locations of Paris Baguette stores in their countries and urging others to stop patronising them.
A number of people from areas in the United States such as New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have pledged to boycott their local stores.
Paris Baguette has more than 4,000 outlets around the world.
This article was first published on TodayOnline.


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South Koreans urge boycott of Paris Baguette bakery chain after worker found crushed in machine

SPC Group has pledged to invest 100 billion won (US$70.2 million) to improve workplace safety over the next three years. Photo: Shutterstock

A number of people from areas in the United States such as New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have pledged to boycott their local stores. Paris Baguette has more than 4,000 outlets around the world. Photo: Bloomberg

South Korea’s Yonsei students under fire for suing underpaid cleaners over ‘noisy’ protests

Kim Hyun-ok, branch president of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union at Seoul’s prestigious Yonsei University, speaks at a press conference on Wednesday attended by union members and supporting students as well as the media. Photo: David D. Lee

Cleaners and security workers at the prestigious private Yonsei University in Seoul have been fighting for more pay and better working conditions for months. Photo: Yonsei Annals

Yonsei University is one of the top colleges in South Korea. Photo: via Instagram

The Korean family behind the Paris Baguette chain loses billions taking their Asian flavoured buns and croissants to the world

Customers at a Paris Baguette bakery in Shanghai. Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

SPC Group's chairman Hur Young-in. Photo: The Korea Times

Signage is displayed in the window of a Paris Baguette Boulangerie location in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. The family behind the Paris Baguette chain is South Korean -- and it's bet a large chunk of its fortune that the rest of the world will warm to its baked goods, often featuring a subtle twist for Asian palates, such as buns stuffed with red-bean filling and pastries that fuse hot dogs. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

A customer sits at a table outside of a Paris Baguette Boulangerie location in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. The family behind the Paris Baguette chain is South Korean -- and it's bet a large chunk of its fortune that the rest of the world will warm to its baked goods, often featuring a subtle twist for Asian palates, such as buns stuffed with red-bean filling and pastries that fuse hot dogs. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Ilsan, South Korea - April 17 2020: A Paris Baguette bakery and cafe in Ilsan, South Korea. Photo: Shutterstock

Paris Croissant Co. CEO Kwon In-tae (C) poses for a photo with LG Uplus Corp. CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi (R) at a Paris Baguette store in Seoul on Sept. 11, 2018

Hong Kong factory worker dies after head crushed by packaging machine

The Amoy Food Limited factory in Tai Po. Photo: SCMP

The victim was declared dead at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital. Photo: Warton Li

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Efforts to resuscitate the man failed after he was pulled out of the tobacco processing machine. Photo: DBC

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Five construction workers, two of whom were unconscious were raced to North Lantau Hospital on Wednesday. K. Y. Cheng

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The five workers were taken to North Lantau Hospital for treatment. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

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Asia

East Asia


It was business as usual a day after a body of an employee was found in a mixer machine, with social media posts alleging that the machine was merely covered with a white sheet
The company’s poor response and alleged safety lapses have prompted protests and calls to boycott the bakery chain and its parent company SPC Group



Paris Baguette’s poor response over the death of an employee in a mixer machine and alleged safety lapses have prompted protests and calls to boycott the bakery chain and its parent company SPC Group.


Food and Drinks