A 26-year-old worker at the London Bagel Museum passed away due to overwork on Oct. 7. Despite Korea’s maximum working limit of 52 hours per week, after confrontation with the London Bagel Museum, the adolescent worker’s KakaoTalk chats revealed he worked closer to 80 hours per week. This has especially sparked further debates as London Bagel Museum violated its company policy of limiting working hours for all workers to a maximum of 44 hours per week.

In the KakaoTalk text messages from the 26-year-old worker, experts were able to find that he had been feeling pressured, exhausted, and having trouble sleeping at home when he was supposed to spend time with his parents. 

“I am deeply upset that unfortunate incidents like these happen again and again,” Luke Seo (12), London Bagel Museum fanatic, said. “These situations where workers who die from overworking in big companies seem endless, and I wonder how these people can be better protected by law.”

As much as the London Bagel Museum earned much love for their delicious and aesthetic bagels, the Korean citizens express their disappointment over the young man’s death and sympathize with his parents. 

“I’m not sure if these incidents should be labeled as accidents,” Kevin Kim (11), student passionate about justice and order, said. “The moment the organization goes against the laws that are implemented to actively protect workers, that is no longer an accident anymore.”

In order to prevent further worker mistreatment, proper care for workers is needed, such as secure working conditions, reasonable working hours, and adequate paychecks. The Korean government continues to implement and strengthen protection measures in order to prevent further injuries.