Former McDonald's CEO Ousted Over Sexual Scandal... Returns 124 Billion KRW Retirement Pay

Dismissed in 2019 for Company Policy Violation
McDonald's Reaches Settlement to Withdraw Lawsuit

▲Steve Easterbrook, former CEO of McDonald's

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The former McDonald's CEO who was fired for having sexual relations with a subordinate employee has agreed to return retirement benefits exceeding 100 billion won instead of reaching a settlement with the company.

On the 16th (local time), according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), McDonald's announced that it had reached an agreement with former CEO Steve Easterbrook to return retirement benefits worth $105 million (approximately 124.4 billion won).

Former CEO Easterbrook will return retirement benefits including cash and stocks and issue an apology statement, while McDonald's has agreed to drop the lawsuit.

Previously, Easterbrook caused controversy by violating company regulations and having consensual sexual relations with a subordinate employee. As a result, in 2019, Easterbrook was dismissed by the company, and during this process, it was further revealed that he had sexual relations with another subordinate employee during his tenure, intensifying the controversy.

According to the retirement benefit return complaint McDonald's filed with the Delaware court in August last year, it was revealed that he had sexual relations with three subordinate employees since around 2018. It was also confirmed that he exchanged dozens of nude photos and videos via email with an employee with whom he had sexual relations. Additionally, it was revealed that Easterbrook transferred McDonald's stocks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of the employees he had relations with.

However, during the 2019 investigation, Easterbrook claimed that he had never had sexual relations with any subordinate employee.

McDonald's stance was that since he not only violated company regulations but also lied to the company, they should recover the retirement benefits.

After the agreement on this day, former CEO Easterbrook issued a statement saying, "During my tenure, I sometimes failed to uphold McDonald's values and fulfill my responsibilities as a company leader," and apologized to former colleagues, the board of directors, and McDonald's franchisees.

Enrique Hernandez Jr., chairman of McDonald's board of directors, emphasized in a statement, "Through this agreement, we held Easterbrook accountable for his clear misconduct, lies, and abuse of the CEO position."

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