"I'm not late, so what's the problem?"... The 'bold' new hire who arrives at 8:59 a.m. is driving the team leader crazy [What do you think?]

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[The Financial News] As generational conflict in the workplace has recently emerged as a major social issue, a story has surfaced about a new employee who arrives exactly on time every day and a team leader who takes issue with it.
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According to Insider on the 19th, A, an eight-year employee who leads a small team at a midsize company, said he has been under extreme stress because of the commuting habits of B, a new female employee.
The official start time at A's company is 9 a.m. Existing team members usually arrive around 8:40 to 8:50 a.m. to prepare for work, while B reportedly calculates her subway and walking time down to the minute and opens the office door at 8:58 a.m. every morning.
A said, "Every time I see her place her finger on the fingerprint scanner at 8:59:50 and say, 'Phew, safe!' I feel like I'm going to lose my mind." He added, "She barely sits down at 9, organizes her bag, goes to the pantry to wash her tumbler, and by then the actual workday always starts well after 9:15."
The tense commute dispute eventually exploded after an unexpected subway delay. B, who had left for work as tightly scheduled as usual, was effectively forced to be late because of a breakdown on Seoul Subway Line 4.
What angered A even more was B's blunt message at a time when other team members were scrambling to answer her client calls on her behalf. Around 9:05 a.m., B posted in the team group chat, "Good morning. The train stopped today. I'll get a Delay Certificate. ^^" There was no sign of apology or embarrassment over being late.
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A eventually called B in separately after she arrived at work close to 10 a.m. and suggested, "Could you leave home about 10 minutes earlier on a regular basis, just in case of subway delays or breakdowns?"
But B responded, "I left home normally and on time. If I was late today, it was the subway's fault, not mine," adding, "That's why I brought a Delay Certificate."
A complained, "With a Delay Certificate in hand, she looked completely invincible." He added, "If the Employment Contract says she only has to arrive by 9 a.m., do we have to understand her unconditionally? Or is this employee the villain for constantly arriving on the edge of lateness and causing harm to the team?"
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Reactions from office workers who heard the story were sharply divided. Many criticized the new employee's attitude. The main view was, "A 9 a.m. start means being ready to begin work at 9," and "Subway delays may be unavoidable, but apologizing when your coworkers are affected is basic common sense in social life."
On the other hand, some sided with the new employee, saying, "If the Employment Contract says 9 a.m. is the start time, there is no legal problem at all," "Forcing someone to come 10 minutes early even after submitting a Delay Certificate is just old-school boss behavior," and "Preparation time should also be counted as work time."
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter