Joyworks Employees Form Emergency Response Committee Amid HOKA Distributor Change: "Our Company, Built Over Years, Is About to Be Stolen"

*This content was translated by AI.

On the 20th, it was announced that employees of Joyworks, the exclusive domestic distributor of global sports running brand HOKA, have formed an Emergency Response Committee (ERC). With the announcement of the next distributor becoming imminent before the conclusion of international arbitration over the legality of contract termination, employees facing the crisis of job loss took direct action.

Joyworks emphasized that it grew HOKA into a brand with annual sales of 100 billion won (including related companies, 180 billion won) over eight years. The ERC stated, "The Korean market for HOKA was not created by the brand's name alone but by employees who have protected the field for eight years," and protested, "Announcements aimed at replacing our workplace are being pushed through before the conclusion of disputes involving our livelihoods."

The ERC said, "We were informed that the final ruling on arbitration challenging the legality of termination from the company has not yet been issued," and added, "The market should not act as if everything is settled while a dispute remains unresolved." According to the ERC, employees are currently continuing normal work at stores and logistics sites while maintaining sales operations.

The ERC further stated, "We were informed by the company that concerns about how the employment of approximately 140 employees will be handled have been continuously raised in negotiations with headquarters, but we understand that no specific explanation has been provided from the global headquarters."

The background to the contract termination involved reports in January regarding a former CEO-related incident. The ERC claimed that the factual circumstances surrounding those reports were being contested through various procedures afterward. According to the ERC, mediation proceedings initiated by the company against major broadcasters before the Media Arbitration Committee have concluded, and it is understood that mediation was conducted regarding biased expressions. Regarding the details and nature of the incident, investigative and judicial procedures are ongoing amid conflicting claims between the parties, and it has been reported that the company is also proceeding with criminal complaints against the individuals involved in the incident.

The ERC stated, "The substance of the incident serving as the premise for termination is being contested through various procedures," and added, "Replacing employees' workplaces before a conclusion is reached reverses the proper order." While acknowledging that the incident involves only the former CEO personally and that the law should resolve such disputes, the ERC further noted, "However, it is difficult to accept that unrelated employees pay the price in terms of jobs before the conclusion of a personal incident."

The ERC condemned companies that rushed to secure rights while aware that the dispute was ongoing. An ERC representative criticized, "If the calculation is to first seize market rights, crush weak SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), and then simply pay compensation with money when legal issues arise, this is an extremely arrogant act that treats the livelihoods of over 140 employees and partner companies as bargaining chips."

Some in the industry also pointed out concerns that contracts concluded amid unresolved disputes could lead to significant legal and financial burdens in the future, resulting in so-called "the curse of the victor" and operational difficulties. Another perspective suggested that the global headquarters is implicitly shifting the burden of the dispute onto Korean companies. The ERC warned, "The burden of unreasonable contracts will ultimately fall on those who pushed them through."

The ERC plans to mobilize all possible means to prevent the employment and careers of employees and partner companies from being compromised before the conclusion of the dispute. It intends to formally report the circumstances and structural issues to the National Assembly's Ethics Committee, followed by launching rallies condemning relevant companies and nationwide signature campaigns in sequence.

The ERC chairperson said, "We are ordinary people who have opened store doors daily, carried boxes, and operated communities with sincerity since before the running trend took off," adding, "We stepped forward not for grandiose causes but because our livelihoods and careers are at stake. We cannot accept a situation where we must rewrite our resumes before the conclusion of eight years of dedicated work."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.