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Lotte Department Store apologizes after 'antiunion' video goes viral

Published: 12 Dec. 2025, 16:06 Updated: 12 Dec. 2025, 16:33

Lee Kim Chun-taek, a member of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union’s Geoje, Tongyeong and Goseong branch, is asked by a security guard to take off his union vest at a restaurant at Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch in southern Seoul on Dec. 10 in this video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lotte Department Store apologized after a security guard told labor union members who were eating at one of its locations to remove their union vests. Labor groups are criticizing the incident as an act of hostility toward constitutionally protected union activity.

The confrontation occurred on Wednesday night in the basement food court of Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch in Songpa District, southern Seoul, as seen in a video posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, part of the larger Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, entered the restaurant in their union vests. Soon after, a security guard approached and asked them to take off their vests, which called for the reinstatement of subcontractors dismissed by Hyundai Motor, with phrases such as “Dismissal is murder.”

In the video, the security guard tells the group that they “need to maintain a certain degree of etiquette in public places.”

Lee Kim Chun-taek, an official with the union’s regional branch, responds, “We've worn [the vests] in public places. We even wore them at the Blue House.”

The guard then states that the store “is private property,” to which Lee Kim replies that if wearing union vests is truly against the department store's rules, then it discriminates against workers.

When the guard protests, “I’m a worker too,” Lee Kim answers, “So you shouldn't think like that.”

“I understand that it's your job, but think carefully about whether [your behavior] is coming from a place of hatred [for union workers],” he continued.

In the background, other union members add that this is an example of how “workers can hate other workers.”

The 71-second clip has been shared more than 8,600 times on X as of noon on Friday.

As criticism spread online, Lotte Department Store issued an apology to the union and said it has no policy restricting customers' clothing.

Dismissed subcontractors and civic groups, including the human rights network Baram, rejected the store's explanation.

“Korea’s Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the right to union activity,” the groups said, accusing the retailer of fostering antiunion culture.

The groups also said that they plan to hold a press conference outside the Jamsil branch on Friday afternoon and then enter the food court to dine while wearing their union vests in protest.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]