On the 13th, Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Jeong Yong-jin, who caused social controversy for his recent remarks of ‘Destruction’, finally apologized.
Vice Chairman Chung wrote on his Instagram account on the followingnoon of the same day, “If even one of my colleagues and customers turns away because of me, nothing loses legitimacy.” Along with the post, he posted a report containing the name of the E-Mart labor union. (Related article:200 billion won in market cap in a single day in Jung Yong-jin’s ‘Geulgong Game’)
E-Mart’s union pointed out that “Destruction is good, but consider your own business first.” The union said, “We are deeply concerned regarding Vice Chairman Chung’s words and actions, which cause disturbances to customers and the public and damage the image of the company in a difficult environment where E-Mart, the flagship of the group, is doing better than other companies with the efforts of its employees despite the increase in online shopping and various regulations. express,” he said.
The union emphasized, “You are free to say what you want to say, but you should consider the impact it will have on tens of thousands of Shinsegae and E-Mart employees and their families.” The union was also concerned, “The union and employees are worried that the word owner risk is coming out at the same time even in noisy marketing.”
‘Destroying’ hashtag → Spread of politics → Stock price plunge → Boycott → Labor union criticism → Apology
Vice Chairman Chung’s ‘destroying’ controversy arose from an Instagram post related to a pizza shop run by his acquaintances in November of last year. At the time, he held up his red wallet and posted a post saying “I hate the Communist Party”, and following that, he continued to post related posts such as “I hate beans”.
In particular, on the 6th, Vice Chairman Chung posted the hashtag ‘Destroy Gonggong’ along with an article with a picture of President Xi Jinping, even pointing out that it might adversely affect the group’s business in China. He later took down the photo and replaced it with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
On the 7th, when former Justice Minister Cho Kuk publicly criticized his remarks of annihilation, the controversy spread, with Vice Chairman Chung countering it as “respec”. On the 8th, Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential candidate for the People’s Power, bought anchovies and beans reminiscent of sulkyung at E-Mart, and some opposition lawmakers responded with the so-called ‘exukgong relay’, causing a big stir in the political arena.
The political battles were reflected in the stock market on the 10th as well, and the stock price of Shinsegae Group, which is closely related to the Chinese business, once plunged by 8 percentage points. He said through Shinsegae Group’s public relations page, “I will no longer make any comments regarding destruction.” However, on the 11th, posters of consumer boycotts once morest E-Mart and Starbucks were posted, and while posting an article regarding North Korean missile launchers, they wrote ‘ㅇㅇ’ and deleted it once more. The comments on his post were once more filled with the word “destroyed”.
Some far-right YouTubers criticized the boycott and actively promoted the purchase movement on their broadcasts, saying, “Save Starbucks and Jung Yong-jin.” Around the Shinsegae Group, it was pointed out that the business with a lot of contact with ordinary consumers might get caught up in ideological disputes due to this incident, which would seriously damage the corporate value and image in the long term. The E-Mart union’s statement reflected this sentiment as it was. Also, on the same day that Vice Chairman Chung apologized, Starbucks raised the price of coffee up to 400 won.
A Shinsegae official said, “Vice Chairman Chung himself thought that this incident should prevent further damage to the company’s values and image. .
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