Part-time worker’s father says, “We never got the 5.5 million won back from the owner, and he hasn’t contacted us”

[The Financial News] The family of a part-time worker who was sued for taking three drinks on her way home from work at a Paik's Coffee branch in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, claims they have not received an apology from the shop owner.

According to a YouTube channel on the 3rd, the father of the part-time worker, identified as A, said that the shop owner, B, withdrew the complaint and expressed an apology in public, apparently in response to public criticism. However, he stated that B has neither contacted the family nor mentioned returning the settlement money.
He went on to say, "It seems the Ministry of Employment and Labor is also conducting some kind of investigation, but we have not been contacted directly."
He added that A and the rest of the family have been deeply traumatized by the incident.
A’s father said, "My daughter continues to suffer from anxiety symptoms and is having a very hard time," and continued, "Young people seem to give up their lives too easily these days. My daughter even talked about taking extreme measures, which was very painful for us. I felt that I had to guide her well, or I might lose my child."
Previously, A was accused by the owner B of occupational embezzlement for making and taking three drinks, including iced Americanos, worth 12,800 won, as she left work at a Paik's Coffee shop in Cheongju where she worked from May to October last year. Police booked A and forwarded the case without detention, but the prosecution service requested a supplementary investigation, and the police are now reinvestigating the case.
Although B has now withdrawn the complaint against A, the police investigation will proceed according to procedure because occupational embezzlement is not an offense that can be dropped at the victim’s discretion.

A’s father also stressed that the family has not been able to recover the 5.5 million won settlement they paid to C, the owner of another Paik's Coffee branch. C had previously sparked controversy after receiving 5.5 million won from A, claiming that during about five months of work at his store, A gave acquaintances a total of 350,000 won worth of drinks for free and accumulated customer reward points in her own account. C later apologized, saying, "I am truly sorry. I did not think things through."
The BORN Korea, which operates Paik's Coffee, stated regarding the case, "We take the dispute between the store in question and the part-time worker very seriously," adding, "We plan to carefully verify the facts and, based on our internal investigation and the progress of judicial proceedings, consider measures at the headquarters level." The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) also announced that it has received a workplace harassment complaint concerning the store and is investigating possible violations of labor laws.
gaa1003@fnnews.com Ahn Ga-eul Reporter