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SPC Group forms task force to improve worker safety after fatal workplace accidents

Published: 22 Jul. 2025, 17:37 Updated: 22 Jul. 2025, 19:58

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Song Young-su, head of the Paris Croissant labor union, third from left in the back row, speaks during the launch ceremony of the Transformation Office held at SPC Group headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 21. Paris Croissant CEO Hur Jin-soo, center in the back row, chairs the task force. [SPC]

Korean bakery and restaurant conglomerate SPC Group is ramping up efforts to prevent fatal workplace accidents — which have claimed employees’ lives in recent years — by launching an internal task force to reform its management practices, the company said Tuesday.

The task force, named Transformation Office, will aim at driving organizational reform and incorporating workers' opinions to prevent further industrial accidents, such as the death of a worker at its Siheung factory in May.

The team held its inaugural meeting on Monday at the group's Seoul offices, where it formally adopted a recommendation to construct a new automated plant to reduce the risk of industrial accidents.

The factory will incorporate AI, IoT, and robotic systems to automate hazardous tasks and integrate real-time monitoring. The group said it is considering relocating part of its manufacturing to the new facility to off-load work from existing plants and reduce night shifts.

The initiative comes as prosecutors continue investigating the death of a worker in May at SPC Samlip’s Siheung plant, who was fatally injured while performing maintenance on a conveyor belt — marking the third fatal accident at an SPC-affiliated plant in less than three years.

SPC said the task force will act as an advisory body to the group's council of affiliate CEOs, by proposing structural improvements to address longstanding workplace safety concerns and rebuild public trust.

But the group's top management will not step down. The group's ruling family's Hur Jin-soo, son of SPC Group Chairman Hur Young-in and CEO of Paris Croissant — the group's de facto holding company — will chair the new task force. It also includes 10 internal members: CEOs and executives from SPC Group, including SPC Samlip, Paris Croissant, BR Korea, SPL, SPC GFS and Sectanine and two labor union representatives. Korean Air Vice President Jang Sung-hyun has been appointed its sole external member.

SPC also created three subcommittees under the team tasked with overseeing safety, well-being and improving labor conditions. The group's council of CEOs is expected to review the task force’s proposals and draw up detailed implementation plans in the coming weeks.

Religious organizations hold a 49th-day memorial ceremony for a worker who died in an industrial accident at a SPC Samlip plant in front of SPC Group headquarters in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 5. [YONHAP]

The move marks SPC’s latest effort to address mounting public criticism over workplace safety. Since 2022, multiple fatal accidents at its plants — including deaths at its Pyeongtaek and Seongnam factories — have triggered boycotts and legal action. Labor advocates and civic groups have called for systemic reforms, citing ongoing risks in manufacturing lines and what they describe as a pattern of corporate negligence.

Police and labor inspectors are currently investigating SPC Samlip for potential violations under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, a law that holds company executives accountable for preventable workplace deaths, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

“The Transformation Office will serve as the driving force behind turning the group’s commitment to reform into concrete action," a SPC spokesperson said. "We will actively incorporate voices from the field and advice from external experts, and boldly correct outdated practices and work systems that no longer align with the times.”

Kim Se-eun, deputy head of the women’s division of the Paris Croissant labor union, said, “I have high hopes that we will be able to come together with company leadership to discuss ways to create a better workplace."

"We will actively share workers’ firsthand views on safety, working conditions and employee welfare with the task force to help drive meaningful change on the ground,” Kim said through SPC's statement.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]