Last month, South Korean convenience chain Emart24 abruptly shut all three of its stores in Singapore.
It later told a Korean news outlet that it was reshuffling outlets to better serve customers with new offerings.
In the latest developments, 15 former Emart24 employees have claimed that they have not received their salaries.
The authorities are helping them to mediate with the company.
The non-payment claims were revealed in a joint statement by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) quoted by The Straits Times (ST).
It said 15 former Emart24 employees in Singapore had filed claims with TADM, which offers advisory and mediation services on employment issues.
The 15 claimed that they hadn’t received their wages from the company, which operated three outlets at NEX, Jurong Point and Margaret Market.
Source: Google Maps
Of the 15 former employees, five have reached agreements with Emart24 after mediation arranged by TADM.
They are now being repaid their salaries.
TADM is scheduling mediation sessions for the remaining 10 former employees, it said.
Workers in need of employment assistance have been referred to the Employment and Employability Institute.
MOM and TADM reminded employers to pay their workers’ salaries on time. They also advised employees who need help with salary claims to get in contact with TADM.
Emart24 entered Singapore in December 2022, offering Korean snacks, meals and drinks to Singaporeans caught in the K-wave.
After debuting in Jurong Point and NEX, it opened a third store in Margaret Market in Queenstown in July 2023.
However, in March its outlets were observed to have shuttered, with all three stores listed as “permanently closed” on Google Maps.
Despite this, Emart24 told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that it wasn’t exiting the Singapore market just yet.
A statement sent to Yonhap said the company is working on “something new” and was “fully committed to make Singapore our home”.
It also urged customers to look out for its reappearance, adding:
We have been making significant management decisions to reshuffle our outlets to better serve our customers with some new and exciting offerings and concepts.
MS News has reached out to Emart24 for comments.
Also read: Emart24 ‘here to stay’ in S’pore, reshuffling outlets to serve customers better
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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