Growing Controversy Over Purmil Business Closure... Union Appeals to the Public for "Open Sale"

Purmil Union Issues Another Public Appeal Statement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Amid the spreading repercussions of Purmil's business closure, the Purmil labor union has once again issued a public appeal stating that the company's business termination and dismissal notices are unjust.

According to industry sources on the 24th, the Purmil union released the appeal the day before, saying, "There must not be a second or third wave of affected workers," and "If a legal precedent for mass layoffs is established, numerous cases of abuse will occur in the future."

The union stated, "We want to plead to save the company even through a public sale. We ask the public for help," and claimed, "While workers made maximum efforts such as wage cuts and workforce reductions, Chairman Shin Junho received 100% of his salary."

They argue that the crisis began after the company shifted to an owner-operated system following the appointment of Shin Dong-hwan, the second son of Chairman Shin, as CEO. After Shin Dong-hwan took office in 2018, the company turned to an operating loss of 1.5 billion KRW, and from 2019 to last year, the annual operating losses increased to 8.9 billion KRW, 11.3 billion KRW, and 12.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Earlier, on the 18th, the Purmil union issued a statement saying, "Although all losses stem from the owner's managerial incompetence, the company is shifting responsibility onto all employees and conducting illegal layoffs," and added, "This is a murderous act driving employees' families to ruin and death." Kim Seong-gon, chairman of the Purmil union, held a one-person protest in front of the Sejong Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 21st. Chairman Kim urged the Ministry of Labor to conduct a fact-finding investigation regarding the Purmil incident. The union, dairy farmers who supplied raw milk, and truck drivers who transported Purmil products plan to hold protests in front of the Seoul headquarters this week.

Purmil decided to cease operations on the 30th of next month and sent emails notifying about the business closure and mass layoffs to approximately 400 full-time employees on the 17th. The reason cited was the continuous losses over several years, a sharp decline in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the inability to find a solution to the accumulated deficits. Previously, LG Household & Health Care had attempted to acquire Purmil but ultimately failed.

About 350 full-time employees who received immediate layoff notices, 50 subcontractor employees, around 150 delivery drivers, and more than 1,000 people including approximately 500 agency store owners, employees, and dairy farmers will be directly affected.

Since the business closure notice on the 17th, the Purmil website has been inaccessible. Purmil is a dairy processing company famous for products such as 'Bifidus,' 'Milk with Black Beans,' and 'Banana Kick Milk.' It was spun off from Lotte Dairy under the Lotte Group in April 2007 and renamed Purmil in 2009. Since last year, the company has been solely operated by CEO Shin Dong-hwan, the second son of Chairman Shin.

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