Restaurant Owner Who Paid 1.3 Million Won in Coins After Receiving 'I Will Resign' Text Message... "Felt Humiliated"

Employee "Had expressed intention to resign due to health issues before" files complaint with Ministry of Employment
Restaurant owner "Should have spoken directly or explained by phone... No apology at all"

A bag containing coins. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A controversy has erupted over an incident where a restaurant employee notified their resignation via text message late at night, and the owner paid the wages in coins.

According to the Pohang branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 11th, Mr. A worked as an employee at a restaurant in Pohang from July 2 to August 20.

He sent a text message to the owner, Mr. B, around 1:10 a.m. on the 21st, after finishing work the night before on the 20th, notifying his intention to resign. He also requested payment for the remaining working days excluding the one month’s wages he had already received.

Mr. A had expressed his intention to resign several days earlier due to the difficulty of the work and poor health. Mr. B was in the process of finding a replacement employee.

Mr. B did not say anything until Mr. A finished work, but became angry upon receiving the sudden resignation message.

Moreover, there was no replacement employee available immediately, making it difficult to operate the restaurant.

After an argument between the two, Mr. B said he would pay the wages only if Mr. A came in person.

About two weeks later, on the morning of the 6th of this month, Mr. A visited the restaurant.

The restaurant owner handed Mr. A several bags containing 100-won and 500-won coins, stating that it amounted to about 1.3 million won in wages.

Flustered, Mr. A took the bags of coins and went home by taxi, which angered his family upon seeing it.

Mr. A’s family went to the restaurant that day and returned the bags of coins, and Mr. A filed a complaint with the Pohang branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Mr. A said, "I had already said I wanted to quit due to personal reasons and health issues, and I apologized, but despite that, being paid in coins in front of other employees was humiliating. I don’t even want the money; I just want punishment."

The restaurant owner stated, "He didn’t submit a resignation letter, and if he was going to quit suddenly, he should have come in person or called to explain the situation and apologize, but he didn’t say a word of apology. Which restaurant owner would be grateful for someone leaving like that?"

Mr. B added, "I never said I wouldn’t pay the wages. I was upset and exhausted at the time, so I gave the wages in change. I didn’t throw the coins; he can just take them to the bank and exchange them."

After the incident became known, online reactions were mostly, "How can you quit by texting after 1 a.m.? It’s polite to say it face-to-face," and "He wasn’t denied his wages, so what’s the problem?" However, some also commented, "Even so, paying in coins was a bit rude."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.