London Bagel Museum employee dies after working 80 hours a week, Justice Party reports

A London Bagel Museum employee in his 20s, surnamed Jeong, reportedly died in July after working nearly 80 hours a week, according to the Justice Party on Monday.

The party issued a statement calling on the popular bakery business to take responsibility, explaining that Jeong had died “after enduring extreme overwork of 58 to 80 hours a week. It had only been 14 months since he joined the company in May last year.”

Jeong worked from 9 a.m. to midnight the day before his death, the party said. Five days prior, he had worked 21 hours.

“It appears likely that a combination of chronic and acute overwork may have led to his death,” the statement reads.

The party said that Jeong’s work contract with London Bagel Museum was also based on more than 14 hours of overtime per week, making it a violation of Korea’s 52-hour workweek limit.

“In reality, his actual working hours far exceeded even that,” the party said, adding that Jeong had transferred branches four times during the 14 months, renewing his contract three times.

The bereaved family has reportedly filed for workers’ compensation, but London Bagel Museum has denied that working excess hours was the cause of death, while refusing to provide the working hour records, according to the party.

“This case shows the brutal and inhumane reality of working at London Bagel Museum,” Progressive Party spokesperson Lee Mi-seon wrote in a separate statement.

“Yet, the company shamelessly markets itself as a ‘hot spot for young people’ while exploiting their young workers’ labor and lives. It’s not just being deceptive, it’s murder driven by violence and greed.”

London Bagel Museum opened its first branch in Jongno District, central Seoul, in September 2021 and has since expanded to seven nationwide.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]