Mr. Pizza’s CEO delivers punches to security guard

Police summoned Jung Woo-hyun on Monday, CEO of the company that owns the pizza franchise Mr. Pizza, for physically assaulting a security guard Saturday evening.

Jung, CEO of MPK Group, has until Thursday to make an appearance to authorities.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jung finished dinner at a restaurant he owns in a building located in Seodaemun District, western Seoul. Police said that when Jung discovered the 58-year-old security guard had pulled down the building shutters before Jung had exited the building, Jung hit the guard twice in his neck and chin.

“I closed down the shutter at 10 p.m. following normal closing hours,” said the security guard, whose surname is Hwang. “I could smell alcohol from Jung’s breath and he hit me in the face with his fist.”

Police confirmed Hwang’s statement with the building’s CCTV camera footage.

“We acknowledge that Jung physically assaulted the guard, but he wasn’t intentionally trying to hit him,” said an MPK Group official. “It was an accident that happened in midst of a disagreement.”

“We are trying to reach Hwang to apologize, but it’s not going so well,” the official added.

Police filed a request in February to indict Kim Man-sik, honorary chairman of Mong-go Food Company, for physically and verbally abusing his 77-year-old driver over a period of three months. The abuse included smacking him on the head and kicking him in the crotch.

Daelim Industrial Group Vice Chairman Lee Hae-wook is known for changing his drivers as much as 40 times a year, habitually abusing them both verbally and physically.

The recent trouble with the MPK Group will spell further trouble for Mr. Pizza, which is already facing a strong backlash from its franchise branches, which claim that MPK Group recently signed a partial contract with a cheese company managed by the CEO’s brother in addition to changing the financial system of all franchise branches in February to POS (Point of Sale) without first seeking an agreement from them.

BY CHO EUN-AE [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]