Prosecutors Notify SPC Group Chairman to Appear Over Alleged Coercion of KCTU Withdrawal... Schedule Being Coordinated

The prosecution investigating allegations that SPC Group's Paris Baguette bakery workers were coerced to leave the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (Minju No Chong) has notified and is coordinating a schedule for Heo Young-in, chairman of SPC Group, to appear.

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

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Public Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Im Sam-bin) initially requested Chairman Heo to appear between the 18th and 19th, but Heo's side conveyed that it was difficult to appear on those dates due to work commitments, and the appearance schedule is being rearranged.

The prosecution is investigating suspicions that from July 2019 to around July 2022, SPC Group, through its subsidiary PB Partners, pressured members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' (Minju No Chong) Hwasum Food Union Paris Baguette branch to leave the union, imposed disadvantages in promotions, and supported securing members for the Korea Federation of Trade Unions' (Hanguk No Chong) Food Industry Union PB Partners union, which is favorable to management.

On the 14th of this month, to verify whether higher-ups were involved in these suspicions, the prosecution summoned and investigated Seo Byung-bae, former CEO of SPC who served from 2014 to 2020 and has continued to serve as a group advisor after retirement.

Earlier, the prosecution secured the custody of Hwang Jae-bok, CEO of SPC, who is accused of unfair labor practices such as making union chairpersons affiliated with the Korea Federation of Trade Unions conduct interviews or issue statements aligned with management's position, accelerating efforts to identify higher-level involvement.