A franchise cafe owner in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, who had filed an embezzlement complaint against a part-time worker for drinking beverages without permission at the store, has withdrawn the complaint.
According to police and others on the 3rd, the cafe owner, identified as A, submitted a letter withdrawing the complaint against the part-time worker, identified as B, through an attorney the day before.
A had alleged that B, upon leaving work in Oct. last year, took three beverages, including an iced Americano, worth 12,800 won without authorization and filed a complaint for occupational embezzlement.
B countered, saying, "They were beverages discarded due to a preparation mistake," and added, "As a rule, employees have handled discarded beverages at their discretion, and the owner has tolerated this."
The owner's side, meanwhile, countered, "We informed employees that beverages slated for disposal must also be paid for," adding, "There is no clause allowing beverages to be disposed of at will."
Police sent B to the prosecutors without detention on a charge of occupational embezzlement, and after prosecutors requested a supplementary investigation, police are now reexamining the case.
Meanwhile, with a workplace harassment complaint filed in connection with the cafe, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has also launched a planned inspection. The ministry plans to look into whether there were violations such as unpaid wages and failure to pay full wages, and whether overtime, night, and holiday allowances were not paid through tactics such as splitting business sites.
Franchise headquarters The Born Korea is also conducting an on-site investigation. The Born Korea said, "We take seriously the dispute between the store at issue and the part-time employee," adding, "To ascertain the facts clearly, we have urgently dispatched brand-related executives and legal staff to the site to investigate."