"Not Only Samsung but Also Hyundai Motor Favoring School Meals"... MZ Generation Launches National Petition

A screenshot of a Blue House petition requesting an investigation into Hyundai Motor Group's unfair support in group catering. [Image source=Blue House petition board]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The Fair Trade Commission imposed hefty fines on Samsung Electronics and others for allegedly allocating 100% of in-house meal supply contracts within the conglomerate group to affiliated companies within the same group. Meanwhile, voices from employees are emerging, calling for investigations into in-house meal services at other large conglomerates as well.

On the 25th, a post was uploaded on the Blue House's public petition board by someone identifying themselves as an "MZ generation employee working at Hyundai Motor Group," requesting an investigation into "why Hyundai Motor Group must exclusively receive meal services from Hyundai Green Food of Hyundai Department Store Group."

The petitioner stated, "Because Hyundai Motor Group primarily operates labor-intensive businesses, large-scale meal services must always accompany all workplaces," and criticized, "The Fair Trade Commission's recent complaint targeting only Samsung Welstory obscures the real hardships experienced by employees of other groups."

On the 24th, the Fair Trade Commission found that four Samsung Group companies?Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung SDI?had, from April 2013 to the 2nd of this month, allocated all in-house meal supply contracts exclusively to Samsung Welstory through private contracts, thereby unfairly supporting Welstory to maintain consistently high profits. Accordingly, the Fair Trade Commission decided to impose corrective orders and a total fine of 234.9 billion KRW on the four companies and Samsung Welstory. Additionally, former Future Strategy Office chief Choi Ji-sung and Samsung Electronics were subject to criminal charges.

The petitioner particularly criticized the quality of the meals, stating, "If the quality of the meals had been good, employees would not have felt compelled to write such posts," and pointed out, "The composition of the meal prices is so questionable that it seems inadequate," adding, "The quality of the meals is so poor that it can be compared to the substandard meal scandals in kindergartens." It is known that Hyundai Motor Group employees have long expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of in-house meals supplied by Hyundai Green Food.

He further criticized, "Despite the poor quantity and quality of the meals, Hyundai Green Food is selected every year as the supplier of group meals for a company with over 100,000 employees. Why has there never been a preference survey among employees, and why have complaints never been addressed?"

The petitioner called for a thorough investigation, stating, "Why are the eyes and ears closed to internal transactions related to group meal services among the owner's family? A strict investigation is necessary."