"Nearly 80 Hours a Week": Employee Dies at Famous Bagel Bakery

Worked at Four Locations in 14 Months After Joining
Endured 58 to 80 Hours of Overwork Per Week

It was recently revealed that a man in his twenties, who worked at the famous bakery London Bagel Museum-which opened in Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul in September 2021 and led the "bagel craze"-died last July after enduring nearly 80 hours of work per week. On the 27th, the Justice Party issued a statement titled "London Bagel Museum Must Not Evade Responsibility for the Death of a Young Worker," stating, "It has been reported that a man in his twenties who worked at London Bagel Museum died last July after suffering from overwork, with weekly hours ranging from 58 to 80," and added, "This happened just 14 months after he joined the company in May last year."

In September 2021, a famous bakery that led the "bagel craze," London Bagel Museum, opened in Anguk-dong, Seoul. It was recently revealed that a man in his twenties who worked there died last July after suffering from nearly 80 hours of work per week. London Bagel Museum Instagram

According to the Justice Party, the deceased arrived at work at 9 a.m. the day before his death and left just before midnight. It was also reported that five days prior to his death, he worked as many as 21 hours in a single day. The party pointed out, "This suggests that both chronic and acute overwork may have overlapped, possibly leading to death from overwork." However, they emphasized that LBM, the food service company operating London Bagel Museum, is denying the suspicion of death from overwork and refusing to provide relevant data. Based on the deceased’s work schedule and KakaoTalk messages, it is estimated that he worked 80 hours in one week and averaged 58 hours per week.

The Justice Party stated, "The deceased's employment contract was drawn up based on more than 14 hours of overtime per week, violating the 52-hour workweek cap, and actual working hours were much longer than this." They explained, "During the 14 months since joining, he worked at four different locations, moving from Gangnam to Suwon and then to Incheon, and his employment contract was renewed three times." The party also claimed that although the bereaved family applied for industrial accident compensation, the company is refusing to provide data related to the deceased's working hours.

In addition to the Justice Party, the Progressive Party also criticized London Bagel Museum’s actions on this day. Im Miseon, spokesperson for the Progressive Party, issued a statement titled "London Bagel Museum, the Youth Hot Place-Was It Actually a Deceptive Company That Consumed Young People's Labor and Lives?" She said, "The deceased skipped meals and worked more than 15 hours the day before his death, and his working hours in the week just before his death increased by 37% compared to the average of the previous 12 weeks." She further pointed out, "Although the bereaved family applied for industrial accident compensation, the management of London Bagel Museum continues to deny death from overwork and has not even submitted evidence of working hours."

The spokesperson stated, "This incident starkly reveals just how brutal and inhumane the working conditions at London Bagel Museum are." She continued, "Nevertheless, London Bagel Museum shamelessly marketed itself as a 'youth hot place' while selling its products to consumers. The actions of London Bagel Museum, which treated young people's labor and lives as part of the brand's cost, are clearly deceptive, violent, and constitute murder driven by greed."