A tragic case of alleged overwork has emerged at a trendy bakery chain London Bagel Museum (LBM)where a young man in his 20s reportedly died after enduring grueling workweeks of up to 80 hours. His death in July is now gaining public attention amid growing outrage.
On October 27, the Korean Justice Party released an official statement revealing that the young employee had worked at LBM for 14 months before dying. The statement cited media reports indicating he worked between 58 and 80 hours a week, with extreme work demands leading to what is suspected to be death from overwork.
According to the party, just five days before his death, the man had worked a shocking 21-hour shift. The day before he died, he clocked in at 9am and didn’t leave until almost midnight.
“This raises serious suspicions that chronic and acute overwork directly contributed to his death,” the Justice Party said.
The company allegedly refused to provide full employment data and LBM is under fire for denying the possibility of overwork, despite documents such as work schedules and chat logs suggesting the deceased worked an average of 58 hours a week, including up to 80 hours in the final week.
The party also pointed out that the worker’s employment contract violated South Korea’s 52-hour week limit, with provisions for more than 14 hours of overtime per week, and actual working hours reportedly far exceeded even that. They pointed out that he had been transferred to four different stores in just over a year, moving from Gangnam to Suwon to Incheon while renewing his contract three times, raising suspicions of contract splitting to evade labor laws.
Although the worker’s family filed an application for compensation for work injury with the Korean Compensation and Welfare Service on October 22, LBM he refused to share work logs, saying: “Our documents differ from the family’s claims.” An executive allegedly told the grieving family that pursuing legal action had made them look bad “immoral.”
“LBM must stop avoiding responsibility and fully disclose work-related data requested by the family,” the Justice Party asked. They also urged the Ministry of Employment and Labor to launch an immediate investigation, adding: “This death must not be ignored. We need proper oversight to prevent another tragedy.”
The party mourned the worker, describing him as a 26-year-old worker who dreamed of one day opening his own bakery.
Meanwhile, Lee Mi-seon, spokesperson for the Progressive Party, also issued a strong statement of condemnation LBM. “This tragedy reveals the brutal and inhumane labor practices behind the brand’s shiny facade. Treating young workers like disposable tools is the result of unchecked greed.” he said.
“LBM has profited by marketing itself as a hip youth hotspot, using the jobs and even lives of young people as part of the cost of their brand,” he added, calling him “Nothing but calculated exploitation and corporate violence.”
THE Bagel Museum Londonopened in September 2021 in Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, became a phenomenon during the Korean “bagel craze”. It currently manages seven branches throughout the country. In July, the chain was sold to private equity firm JKL Partners in a deal worth more than KRW 200 billion.
Sources: born
