Prosecutors Summon Former SPC CEO Over Alleged Coercion to Quit Bakery Workers' Union

Speeding Up Investigation into 'Upper-Level' Involvement... Former CEO Seo Byung-bae Questioned as Suspect

The prosecution investigating the allegations of SPC Group's 'coercion of Paris Baguette bakery workers to leave the union' summoned and questioned former SPC CEO Seo Byung-bae.

SPC Headquarters, Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Public Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Im Sam-bin) summoned former CEO Seo in the morning as a suspect on charges of violating the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.

The prosecution is reportedly focusing on questioning Seo about whether he was involved in unfair labor practices such as coercing bakery workers to leave the union, and whether there was involvement from higher-ups such as SPC Group Chairman Heo Young-in.

Seo served as SPC CEO from 2014 to 2020 and has continued to serve as a group advisor after his resignation.

The prosecution is investigating suspicions that SPC Group, from around July 2019 to July 2022, pressured members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Hwaseom Food Union Paris Baguette branch at PB Partners, a group subsidiary, to leave the union, imposed disadvantages in promotion personnel matters, and supported the securing of members for the Korea Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU) Food Federation PB Partners union, which is favorable to management.

Earlier, the prosecution secured the custody of SPC CEO Hwang Jae-bok, who is accused of unfair labor practices such as making the chairman of the KFTU-affiliated union give interviews or issue statements aligned with management's position, thereby establishing a foothold for investigation toward higher-ups.

Hwang is also accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of won worth of entertainment in exchange for providing various investigation information, including the fact of a search warrant request and internal review reports, from a prosecutor investigator between September 2020 and around May last year.