Select Koreans in Nanjing were recently permitted something which is entirely illegal in their home country; smoke in a factory. And it is that right, being denied the Chinese, which has landed the factory in question in some pretty hot water.
That company is Shenyuan Auto Parts Technology (Nanjing), a locally-based, South-Korean invested automobile parts factory. The scandal came to light after the company released a bizarre no-smoking notice last week.
The notice read, “From 1 pm on Friday to 1 pm on Saturday, all staff members in the factory are banned from smoking for 1 day. Any employee who violates the rule will be dismissed, except Koreans”, reports the Global Times.
So just who are these Koreans who are above the law? According to one employee with the company, they all occupy management positions. That may go someway towards explaining the exception, but it nevertheless has the Chinese up in arms.
“Stand up and don’t kneel”, was the comment by one online observer.
Another said, “How much kimchi did the Koreans give them to write such a notice”.
But this past weekend’s scandal was far from the first such instance. The insider was also able to confirm to media that employees have indeed been previously fired for smoking. They also said that the wording, “excluding Koreans”, has now been removed from the notice.
Back in their home country, however, smoking is illegal and strictly prohibited in South Korean factory buildings which have a floor area larger than 1,000 square metres.
Shenyuan Nanjing has its headquarters in South Korea, as a subsidiary of the MS Auto Tech Group. The Nanjing arm was established in 2018, with a business scope that includes auto parts’ production, sales and technical service.
The company did not respond to media efforts at contacting it for comment.
