Overwork Death of a Young Worker at a Famous Bakery — Young Workers Trapped in Structural Overwork

Michelle Jang (KILSH)

March 30 2026

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 On July 16, 2025, a 26-year-old worker, Jeong Hyo-won, who was employed at the well-known bakery London Bagel Museum, was found in cardiac arrest at a company dormitory. His coworkers quickly called an ambulance, but he had already passed away.

Three months later, a labor-focused daily newspaper reported extensively on his death and raised suspicions of overwork-related death at the bakery [1] , sparking widespread public concern.

London Bagel Museum is not just a bakery selling bagels. Founded in 2021, it quickly gained popularity through social media by promoting a brand image that blended food with culture and the arts. It became a trendy hotspot among people in their 20s and 30s, with long lines of customers often stretching outside its stores[2]. 

On the back of this success, the company reported 79.6 billion KRW(53 million USD) in annual revenue and 24.3 billion KRW(16 million USD) in operating profit in 2024, just three years after its founding. The founder’s success story—having built significant wealth through the brand—was featured on various TV programs, and her distinctive fashion style further boosted the brand’s popularity.

However, after the death of a young worker was brought to light, a series of reports began to reveal the harsh working conditions that had been hidden behind the brand’s glamorous image, shocking the public[3]. 

Extreme Long Working Hours Exposed by Labor Inspection

According to reports, the late Jeong Hyo-won had been with the company for 14 months at the time of his death. In the week before he died, he worked 80 hours—an increase of 37% compared to his usual working hours—while preparing for the opening of a new store. Under the Ministry of Employment and Labor guidelines for determining work-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the risk of death from overwork is considered high when working hours in the week before death increase by more than 30% compared to the weekly average over the previous 12 weeks.

In addition, his employment contract showed multiple signs of violations of the Labor Standards Act, including exceeding the 52-hour weekly limit, splitting contracts into periods of less than one year, and failing to pay overtime wages[4]. 

Immediately after the news reports, London Bagel Museum denied any overwork-related death. However, the Ministry of Employment and Labor quickly launched a planned labor inspection of the company’s operator, LBM. In February of this year, the inspection uncovered five criminal violations of the Labor Standards Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act, as well as 61 labor law violations including excessively long workweeks exceeding 70 hours. LBM was fined 801 million KRW(530,000 USD) and ordered to pay 564 million KRW(373,000 USD)in unpaid wages for overtime, night, and holiday work[5]. On the same day, LBM issued an apology and announced the resignation of its CEO.

Meanwhile, in July 2025, around the time of the worker’s death, London Bagel Museum was sold for approximately 200 billion KRW(133 million USD) to a private equity firm. Some have speculated that the overwork death was a case of structural overwork, caused by aggressive workforce efficiency measures implemented to maximize corporate value and profitability during the merger and acquisition process[6]. 

Behind the Numbers, There Are People

The majority of London Bagel Museum employees were in their 20s, just starting their careers[7]. LBM, the operating company, took advantage of young job seekers desperate in a sluggish economy, imposing harsh, precarious, non-regular contracts that blatantly violated the 52-hour weekly limit of the Labor Standards Act. By hiring cheaply and pushing workers to extreme levels of labor intensity, the company maximized economic efficiency, achieving the highest output at minimal cost. Behind the hundreds of billions in sales at London Bagel Museum, countless young employees shed blood, sweat, and tears—and tragically, one even lost his live.

 In fact, the problems revealed at London Bagel Museum are the same ones pointed out in previous overwork death cases. Experts and the families of victims of overwork deaths have long raised concerns about the abnormal, illegal work environments that lead to overwork deaths and the systemic loopholes that encourage them, yet society has still failed to change.

Behind the numbers, there are people. To prevent further overwork deaths, it is time to make a change.

[1] Sources: Maeil Labor News, October 27, 2025

●      “[Exclusive – Suspected Overwork Death at London Bagel Museum] A 26-Year-Old Worker Dies After ‘80-Hour Workweeks’”

●      “[Suspected Overwork Death at London Bagel Museum] The Company Denies Overwork Death but Fails to Provide Evidence of Working Hours”

●    “[Suspected Overwork Death at London Bagel Museum] ‘Full of Loopholes’ Employment Contracts — Calls for Labor Inspection” 

[2] London Bagel Museum, operated by LBM Co., Ltd., is a food and beverage (F&B) company that began with its Anguk Station location in 2021 and rapidly expanded. While its main product is bagels—a Western-style bread—the company built its brand by combining food with culture and the arts. Through carefully designed store layouts, strong branding, and active promotion strategies such as viral marketing and social media, it targeted young consumers both in Korea and abroad. Beyond bread and coffee, the business expanded into fashion, merchandise, and online retail.

Source: Working Citizens Institute & Union Center, Issues and Agenda, Vol. 80, “[Beyond the Blind Spot of Rights (4)] Fragmented Employment at London Bagel Museum and Its Impact on Labor Rights and Social Safety Nets.” 

[3] As of March 31 this year, 726 out of 750 workers at LBM—96.8% of its workforce—were on fixed-term contracts. LBM’s operating profit margin in 2024 was 30.5%. By comparison, according to the same survey, the average operating profit margin in the bakery industry in 2023 was only 8.8% for franchise businesses and 9.8% for non-franchise businesses. LBM’s success, with a profit margin more than three times the industry average, was achieved largely by relying on a structure of labor exploitation that created its brand image.

Source: Maeil Labor News, November 3, 2025, “97% of LBM Workforce on Fixed-Term Contracts: Workers Treated as Disposable.” 

[4] The late worker’s monthly salary was set at 3.25 million KRW($2150 USD), with the base pay at minimum wage and overtime pay accounting for 36% of the total. Although his contract was formally a fixed-OT (overtime) agreement, calculating the overtime hours based on the pay showed that he would have had to work more than 14 hours of extra overtime per week—assuming a violation of the 52-hour weekly limit. A review of his pay slips revealed that overtime pay was not even provided according to the contract. Since joining in May of last year, he had worked at four different branches and renewed his employment contract three times. Contracts were made with individual branches rather than with the corporate entity. 

Source: Maeil Labor News, October 27, 2025, “[Suspected Overwork Death at London Bagel Museum] ‘Full of Loopholes’ Employment Contracts — Calls for Labor Inspection.” 

[5] Source: Maeil Labor News, February 13, 2026, “Labor Inspection at London Bagel Museum Confirms Over 70-Hour Workweeks at Incheon Branch Where Worker Died.”

[6] After negotiations, the final deal was concluded in the 200-billion-KRW range with a split payment and an earn-out condition. The earn-out clause is a key factor that encourages short-term, performance-driven management. In LBM’s case, roughly half of the sale price was paid upfront in August, with the remainder to be received next year depending on whether this year’s performance targets were met. Under this structure, it is likely that the current management minimized costs or pushed aggressively to meet opening schedules in order to justify the 200-billion-KRW valuation tied to the earn-out and secure the remaining sale proceeds.

Source: Bloter, October 30, 2025, “[Suspected Overwork Death at London Bagel Museum] JKL’s ‘Earn-Out Trap’… A Tragedy Driven by Performance Pressure.”

[7]  Source: OhmyNews, November 6, 2025, “London Bagel Museum: Rising Sales Accompanied by Surge in Workplace Accidents… 76% of Young Workers in Their 20s.” 

Source: Maeil Labor News, October 27, 2025, “[Suspected Overwork Death at London Bagel Museum] ‘Full of Loopholes’ Employment Contracts — Calls for Labor Inspection.”