Public outcry shook social networks on Tuesday over an incident in which a CEO allegedly hit and verbally abused a front door manager at a major hotel in Seoul after a quarrel over a parking space.
According to reports in the local press, the CEO of a well-known bakery company on Friday parked his car in the first-floor VIP space of the hotel that is originally reserved for public officials and lawmakers.
The CEO reportedly obtained the hotel’s approval to use the parking lot in advance but, concerned about other cars waiting to get into the lot, the manager asked the businessman to move his car.
After the manager repeatedly made the request, the CEO started to use abusive language and slapped the manager’s cheek with his wallet.
“Who do you think you are, ordering me to move my car?” the CEO reportedly said.
The manager tried to calm down the CEO, saying “I’m in my 50s and have a grown son. Don’t swear at me.”
The CEO retorted that he was in his 70s. The argument continued for more than 10 minutes, according to witnesses nearby.
The hotel, which refused to reveal a surveillance video, said the businessman later apologized to the manager.
“For the privacy of the client, we cannot elaborate further on the incident. It is also impossible to disclose the CCTV footage of the incident because it goes against company policy,” the hotel said.
Witnesses said the manager politely asked the CEO to drive his car out of the parking lot, saying that the CEO seemed to treat him as a door man.
The news quickly spread through social networking services, generating plenty of responses.
“In a capitalist society, money is a class,” said a Twitter user. Others lashed out at the CEO and called for a boycott of the bakery’s products.
The incident’s impact was particularly strong as it came just a week after an executive at power generation company POSCO Energy resigned following the alleged verbal and physical abuse of a female flight attendant for “poor service.”
By Park Han-na (
hnpark@heraldcorp.com)
