Hidden Cameras, Obscene Talk, and Appearance Criticism Occur Among Employees
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] All employees of a bar located in Gajwa-dong, Jinju, Gyeongnam, who engaged in sexually harassing conversations about women in a KakaoTalk group chat, have been fired. The bar owner announced that he has terminated the franchise contract with the headquarters and will also quit the business.
The owner of the 1943 Jinju branch said on Facebook on the 24th, "I am more aware than anyone else of the seriousness of the group chat incident. First, I sincerely apologize to the victims who must have felt indescribable discomfort. We will apologize and compensate them and will responsibly cooperate with the police investigation. I am truly sorry."
He added, "Starting a business at a young age, I was very immature. Due to my careless thoughts and actions, I failed to properly manage the employees. As a result, they shamelessly mentioned women in the group chat, using abusive language and engaging in obscene talk, which was disgraceful behavior."
He continued, "All employees, including myself, are reflecting on this. To ensure such incidents never happen again, all the employees have been dismissed. I will also quit the business. From today, according to the headquarters' guidelines, the franchise has been canceled. I hope no other franchise locations suffer damage. I also apologize to the headquarters officials and other franchise owners who were affected. Lastly, I will take full legal responsibility from now on. I will live my life in apology. Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone."
On the same day, the 1943 headquarters also posted a video on Facebook to apologize. The representative of 1943 headquarters stated, "We consider this behavior unacceptable. First, we confirmed that the 1943 Jinju branch has sincerely apologized to the female victims. The victims have also taken down their personal SNS posts after discussions."
The representative said, "Although the 1943 Jinju branch is deeply reflecting, after a meeting at headquarters, we decided to follow the franchise contract. The 1943 Jinju branch caused significant damage to the 1943 brand itself, and our headquarters has suffered severe defamation. Therefore, we have decided to terminate the contract with the 1943 Jinju branch."
Earlier, on the 23rd, an online community revealed KakaoTalk chat screenshots titled "Sexual harassment in the group chat of employees at a famous Jinju bar." It was reported that the chat was created by employees in the group chat.
In the chat room, employees evaluated women's appearances, described sexual acts, and even engaged in illegal filming. They also spied on the SNS of women who applied for part-time jobs.
One employee, upon a woman applying for a part-time job at the bar, said, "I will get her profile," and tracked her information. When another employee found and shared the woman's SNS, the responses included, "She's kind of pretty," and "Let's have the interview while touching her where CCTV doesn't see."
They shared information about places inside the bar not covered by CCTV. Comments such as "Touch a bit," "Our dishwasher area isn't visible on CCTV," and "I'll show you while touching" were made. They referred to female part-time workers as "comfort women" and said, "I bought her with money."
Women visiting the bar also became their targets. They secretly took photos of customers and shared them, saying, "Aren't these b****** so noisy?" They also mentioned the universities and departments the women attended, saying, "Those b****** should just study."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
