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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Samyang Foods, the maker of the wildly popular Buldak Spicy Chicken Noodles, is facing criticism over long working hours and overnight shifts at its production facility, as the company ramps up exports of its flagship product.
According to industry sources on August 3, production staff at Samyang’s Miryang Plant No. 2, which primarily manufactures Buldak products, have been working two shifts, five days a week, often exceeding Korea’s legal 52-hour workweek.
Excluding meal and rest breaks, employees work 10 hours Monday through Thursday and 9.5 hours on Fridays, totaling 49.5 hours per week. With two to three Saturday shifts per month, weekly hours can exceed 58, violating the legal limit.
The company reportedly obtains overtime consent forms each month, but critics say this practice exploits loopholes in labor law rather than genuinely addressing overwork concerns.
The plant operates on a rotating day/night schedule:
Day shift: 8:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Night shift: 8:00 p.m. – 7:30 a.m.
Workers on the night shift endure five consecutive overnight shifts, and those working Saturday nights finish Sunday morning — only to return to work early Monday, a schedule employees describe as physically exhausting and harmful to their health.
Some workers have reportedly resigned or are considering quitting due to severe fatigue and health concerns.
Miryang Plant No. 2, which opened on June 11, spans 34,576㎡ and operates six production lines capable of producing 830 million packs of ramen annually. Combined with the nearby Plant No. 1, annual output rises to 1.58 billion packs — roughly half of Samyang Foods’ total export volume.
The controversy comes as Buldak’s popularity continues to soar, with 6.6 billion packs sold globally as of September 2023. But labor advocates warn that the export-driven boom should not come at the expense of worker health and legal compliance.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
