"Don't Eat It"…Korean Fired After Kicking in Front of Indonesian Female Employee

A Korean man kicking female workers at an Indonesian factory. Photo by YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A video showing a Korean employee at a shoe factory in Indonesia kicking and angrily confronting local female workers has sparked controversy.

According to the local media 'mitrasulawesi.id' on the 6th, a video filmed inside the Korean shoe factory Taekwang Industrial in Subang, West Java, has rapidly spread on social networking services (SNS) recently.

The approximately 2-minute video shows a man wearing a mask pointing at the floor with his finger among Indonesian female workers and then kicking something on the floor.

After the kick, the man placed his hands on his waist and loudly scolded the female workers.

As the video spread, Indonesian netizens expressed anger with comments such as "This behavior is inappropriate in the workplace," "Even if he is a superior, he should not use violence like this," and "Watching the video, the man showed no respect to the workers at all."

The affected workers reportedly claimed, "(Due to this man's actions) food splattered and the back of the hand was scratched." The Subang military and labor civic groups have immediately begun verifying the facts.

A Korean security officer with hands on hips scolding. Photo by YouTube capture

Meanwhile, Taekwang Industrial explained in a phone call with Yonhap News, "Eating inside the factory is prohibited for hygiene reasons, and around 6:30 PM on the 4th, a security officer passing by noticed female workers eating and pointed it out."

They added, "Although there was a food bag on the floor, the workers kept insisting they were not eating, and as a quarrel ensued, the security officer lost his temper and kicked the food bag," and stated, "According to the company's zero-tolerance policy on workplace violence and harassment, the person involved has been immediately dismissed."

They also said, "We apologized to the affected workers and will ensure that such incidents do not recur." The security officer was dismissed on the morning of the 5th, the day after the incident, and was confirmed to have been a Korean originally hired locally.