Video of Daiso worker kneeling in apology before yelling customer goes viral
Published: 27 Nov. 2025, 14:23
Updated: 27 Nov. 2025, 16:18
![An employee at a Daiso store in Suncheon kneels and apologizes before a customer on Nov. 21. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/27/38531db2-5db1-45b4-bc1b-465e34ca6cee.jpg)
An employee at a Daiso store in Suncheon kneels and apologizes before a customer on Nov. 21. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
A video showing a Daiso employee kneeling before a customer in a store in Suncheon, South Jeolla, has gone viral, fueling accusations of abusive customer behavior.
An eyewitness account with a video attached was uploaded on Nov. 21, which quickly drew public criticism.
The poster wrote that they had “just been to Daiso and saw something unbelievable,” explaining that a child was running around near the entrance of the store. “It looked like the employee told the child not to run around as it is dangerous.”
“But the child’s mother suddenly started yelling,” the post continued. “She hurled insults at an employee old enough to be her mother and threatened to file a complaint. In the end, the employee had to kneel and apologize.”
The poster added that the child witnessed the entire scene. “The mother didn’t seem to realize how embarrassing her behavior was. Anyone could see the employee did nothing wrong. I don’t understand why a worker should be humiliated like that.”
![A Daiso store in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 16. [YI WOO-LIM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/27/b7b56087-afef-400c-89bf-380973e59428.jpg)
A Daiso store in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 16. [YI WOO-LIM]
The video shows a woman in a Daiso vest employee kneeling in front of a customer and saying, “I’m sorry, but this area is very dangerous.” The customer responds loudly, “That’s why I stopped my kid earlier. A mother handles the child. Who are you to tell a customer what to do while you’re supposed to be working? Are you just going to stare at my kid?”
The footage has prompted an outpouring of criticism online.
Comments such as “Outrageous power trip,” “I’m speechless,” and “What if the employee’s children see this?” flooded the comment section of the post.
Others said the behavior amounted to “insulting the employee’s dignity” and urged that “if there’s CCTV footage, the case should be reported to police.” Some also called for better measures to protect store workers.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)