”Trouble between headquarters and franchisees...” Knife-wielding incident at pizza restaurant leaves three dead in South Korea

On the 3rd, a knife-wielding incident occurred at a pizza restaurant in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea, resulting in the deaths of three people. The incident was attributed to "tyrannical and undue pressure" from the headquarters of the pizza franchise.
According to police and fire authorities, the incident occurred at around 10:57 a.m. in Chowon-dong, Gwanak-gu.
A report was received that four people had been stabbed and collapsed inside a pizza shop. The suspect was a man in his 40s, Mr. A (41), who was the owner of the pizza shop. He stabbed the three victims with a knife and then took his own life.
The three victims were taken to a nearby hospital immediately after the incident, but all died. One of the victims was Mr. B (49), an executive at the franchise headquarters.
The remaining two were identified as interior designer Mr. C (60) and his daughter Ms. D (32). Mr. A had been in conflict with the franchise headquarters over issues such as the interior design of the store, and on the day of the incident
It has been revealed that the crime was committed after a clash. The family of suspect A has stated in multiple media outlets that "the tyrannical and unjust pressure from the head office (before the incident) was too severe."
They (Mr. A's family) said, "In less than two years since the interior work was carried out by a contractor appointed by the head office, water leaks have occurred, tiles have cracked, and the refrigerator has even sunk.
The company initially said it would repair the damage, but later changed its stance to say it would not, which led to a conflict."
He added, “Even on the day, a message about interior defects triggered
The incident occurred when the franchise headquarters and the interior design company visited the store. "The family of Mr. A usually talks about the pizza franchise headquarters, saying, "(
"Even before the incident, the headquarters' tyrannical and unfair pressure was extremely severe. The delivery platform's fees were high, and the headquarters took too much profit from the franchisees," he said. "On top of that, recently,
"The head office came to A on multiple occasions and demanded that A create a new set menu for 100 people. If A created this menu, they would not be able to recoup the labor costs and would actually end up in the red, so A was in a lot of pain," he said.
The franchise company will receive 3 million won (approximately 320,000 yen) from franchise owners for training expenses and 23 to 28 million won (approximately 235 to 285,000 yen) for kitchen equipment and utensils.
It was revealed that the company had collected 10 million yen in fees, and had also received separate fees for interior design costs such as lighting, tiles, flooring, and electrical work.
Regarding these allegations, the head of the pizza franchise headquarters said, "We have not used tyranny or pressure.
"We've only been operating for about four years since we established the corporation, but we've never once asked our franchisees to change their interiors," he said.
He added, "The store in question has been open for nearly two years, and the owner was unable to personally inspect the interior, so he simply introduced a cheap contractor. After two years, it's unclear who is responsible.
"The conflict with the interior design company escalated, and an executive from the headquarters went to the site to mediate the conflict," he explained.
He also said, "The store in question had stable sales and was one of the good franchisees with a good relationship. The head office was acting tyrannically.
"It is impossible that he did this," the police said. Meanwhile, the police are reportedly planning to investigate the exact circumstances of the incident once Mr. A has completed his treatment and recovered, and to consider applying for an arrest warrant.