"Blue Gloves Used for Making Bingsu, Then Cleaning Drains" Hygiene Controversy Erupts Over Sulbing Part-Timer Video

[Financial News] A hygiene controversy is spreading after a video showed an employee at a Sulbing branch, a bingsu franchise, seemingly using the same gloves repeatedly for food preparation, dishwashing, and food waste disposal.
On the 20th, a video began spreading rapidly across online communities and social networking services (SNS) under titles such as "Sulbing part-timer vlog in chaos over hygiene" and "Sulbing part-timer hygiene controversy."
The original video was a repost of one uploaded by a Sulbing employee under the title "Experiencing a Summer Sulbing Part-Time Job." As the hygiene controversy grew, the original video has since been deleted.
In the released footage, the employee appears to be in a Sulbing kitchen area, placing cookies on top of bingsu and decorating it with mango using bare hands covered only by blue nitrile gloves, without any special tools.
The problem came next. Without changing the gloves, the employee began washing dishes, touched the sink drain strainer full of grime, and even handled food waste.
A caption suggesting that dishes had to be washed in between tasks only intensified the backlash. It led viewers to suspect that the employee would continue making bingsu without changing gloves.
Viewers reacted with comments such as, "You make food with hands that touched the drain... If the gloves weren't changed, that's a serious problem," "What is the point of wearing gloves if you still touch the oven handle with them?" and "It's shocking that this was posted as a video showing how hard they work."
Sulbing headquarters has not yet issued an official statement on the hygiene controversy. Whether the company will establish measures to prevent a repeat is expected to be key to restoring the brand's value. The retail industry is also watching closely, as the incident could lead to broader hygiene reviews across the Food and Beverage (F&B) franchise sector.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's hygiene standards for food service establishments, workers who prepare food must manage personal hygiene thoroughly to prevent contamination. In particular, after performing tasks that may cause contamination, they must wash their hands or replace their sanitary gloves to prevent cross-contamination.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) currently accepts reports of illegal food-related activity through its 1399 hotline and app, and attention is now focused on whether administrative action will be taken against the store.
sms@fnnews.com Sung Min-seo Reporter