S Korean firm apologizes for employee's assault in Hanoi

South Korea's Segyung Hi-Tech, with a subsidiary in the northern Vietnam province of Bac Ninh, on Wednesday issued a formal apology for its employee making an assault on two Vietnamese women in Hanoi.

The company also pledged to dismiss the employee and committed to compensating the victims.

In a press release, Chun Sung Woog, a representative of Segyung Vina - Segyung Hi-Tech’s Vietnamese subsidiary, offered a public apology to the Government of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people, and all affected for what he described as the "unacceptable behavior" of the company’s staff member during her recent business trip.

“We fully understand that this was an unethical and absolutely unacceptable act, which goes against our company’s principles of complying with Vietnamese law, respecting Vietnamese culture, and working in harmony with all Vietnamese employees,” he stated.

The incident took place last Friday evening in Hanoi’s My Dinh area, where a female Korean employee of Segyung Hi-Tech, accompanied by another woman, was captured on video grabbing hair, pushing, and physically assaulting two Vietnamese women inside a photobooth.

Though the altercation occurred outside working hours, it quickly drew widespread attention after video footage of the incident went viral on social media.

By Monday afternoon, after confirming the details, Segyung convened an emergency meeting and dispatched representatives to contact the victims, the photobooth’s operator, and local authorities to fully cooperate for the investigation.

The firm confirmed that the woman involved was an employee from its South Korea headquarters, who was in Vietnam for business from July 9 to 14. Following the incident, Segyung immediately suspended her and has since announced her termination.

In addition to pledging full compensation to the victims, the company stated it would introduce a mandatory code of conduct for all Korean employees working in Vietnam. It also plans to launch regular training programs to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Segyung Hi-Tech subsidiary, operating in Bac Ninh province since December 2013, manufactures phone components, functional films, and high-tech adhesive tapes. It is one of the group's key overseas production facilities.