Wages not paid on time at 32% of franchised convenience stores, coffee shops

[Photo by Choi Jae-won]

More than three out of 10 franchised convenience stores and coffee shops failed to pay their employees’ wages on time, according to a recent survey.

According to data that Representative Lee Ju-hwan of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee obtained from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday, the ministry inspected 688 franchised convenience stores between 2019 and July 2023 and found 219 stores, or 31.8 percent, with unpaid wages.

Franchised coffee shops ranking in the top 10 by number of franchisees also owed wages at 278, or 31.1 percent of the 895 shops inspected.

Among convenience stores, GS25 and CU had the highest number of franchise stores with unpaid wages at 88 out of 294, or 29.9 percent, and 86 out of 253, or 34 percent, respectively.

7-Eleven had the highest ratio of stores with unpaid wages to those all inspected at 38 out of 105, or 36.2 percent.

Among coffee shops, Twosome Place had the most shops in wage arrears, with 81 out of 208, or 38.9 percent. Caffe Pascucci had 19 out of 51 shops with unpaid wages, or 37.3 percent. The number was 28 out of 87, or 32.2 percent, for Compose Coffee, and 77 out of 260, or 29.6 percent, for Ediya Coffee.

In fact, 520 out of 688 convenience stores, or 75.6 percent, and 756 out of 895 coffee shops, or 84.5 percent, even violated written labor contracts.

Thirty-four convenience stores and 16 coffee shops also failed to comply with the minimum wage requirements.

“Merchants could be facing difficulties due to the rapid increase in the minimum wage, Covid-19, and the economic downturn, but they must comply with minimum labor standards such as labor contracts, wage payment, and minimum wage,” Lee said. “Active inspections and guidance targeting business owners should be carried out to protect vulnerable workers.”