"Hey, how old are you? You're so young," abusive language and assault, can't stop 'customer power abuse'

On the 12th in Gwangju, Convenience Store Part-Time Worker Assaulted
Perpetrator: "I Do This Because I’m Uneducated"
75.5% of Part-Time Workers... Experienced Power Abuse During Work

On the 12th at around 10:20 PM, a convenience store employee was assaulted in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] "Is customer venting included in the part-time wage?", "Speaking informally is basic. Now, we just accept most verbal abuse."

Recently, criticism against 'customer power abuse' has been growing after a part-time convenience store worker was verbally abused, cursed at, and physically assaulted by a couple who entered as customers.

However, part-time workers who receive unfair orders, personal insults, and mockery during work often cannot even protest, highlighting the urgent need for improved treatment. Experts emphasize that our society needs to mature further.

According to Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju on the 25th, on the 12th, a part-time worker A at a convenience store in Gwangsan-gu was verbally abused and assaulted by a couple who entered as customers.

According to the police, at around 10:20 p.m. that day, A asked the husband B, who was sitting on a plastic box used to store empty bottles, to move. However, B immediately responded with harsh language and curses. During this process, A was pushed by them and fell onto the convenience store floor.

In a recording released by A, the couple continued with personal insults, saying, "You do this (working at a convenience store) because you have no education," and "Call your father. Aren't you a daughter?"

Photo by Yonhap News

A’s experience of suffering from rude customer behavior during part-time work is not unique. Four out of five part-time workers have experienced power abuse during their shifts. Since many part-time jobs are done by young adults in their early twenties who are new to society, they tend to be openly disregarded due to their youth and lack of social experience.

On the 17th, Albamon conducted a survey on 2,279 part-time workers about 'experiences of power abuse during part-time work,' and 75.5% answered that they had experienced power abuse during their shifts. This means that four out of five part-time workers have been subjected to power abuse while working.

Despite ongoing customer power abuse, part-time workers often cannot protest. B, a 25-year-old female part-time worker at a convenience store in Jongno-gu, Seoul, said, "Speaking informally is basic, and it seems like customers vent their bad moods on part-time workers for personal reasons," adding, "Sometimes I wonder if the customers’ venting costs are included in our wages."

She continued, "Some people throw money or cards onto the counter when handing them over or leave trash anywhere, telling us to throw it away," and lamented, "It seems like people think part-time workers at convenience stores are inferior and behave rudely."

Part-time workers find it most difficult to endure personal insults and harsh language. Among the types of power abuse experienced by part-time workers, emotional labor?being forced to be kind and patient?was the most common at 50.1%.

Next were unreasonable demands and unfair orders (49.9%) and baseless venting (45.4%) in third place, followed by demeaning, mocking, and ignoring?inhumane treatment (34.1%) and verbal abuse (28.0%) in fourth and fifth places respectively.

There were also responses reporting experiences of surveillance and excessive control (25.5%), unreasonable demands for apologies (19.2%), and personal interference and invasion of privacy (15.8%).

C, a 23-year-old female part-time worker at a cafe in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, shared, "A middle-aged male customer suddenly said, 'Hey, bring me some water,' and when I told him he had to get it himself at the self-service bar, he got angry," adding, "It was an embarrassing and frustrating situation, but I just brought it because I knew showing anger would only make things worse for me."

Photo by Yonhap News

Despite these violent situations, part-time workers tend to endure them for fear of losing their jobs. They silently suffer through various abuses. This is why voices calling for the prevention and improvement of power abuse against part-time workers and young workers are growing.

In the same survey, when asked about how they cope, 56.0% answered, "I endure it for now," the highest response.

D, a 22-year-old male part-time server at a restaurant, said, "A customer handed me 10,000 won and told me to buy cigarettes," expressing frustration, "I wondered if I really had to do such a favor, but the boss gestured for me to go, so I had no choice but to run the errand."

He added, "Making a big deal out of it doesn’t help. If a customer starts complaining, the part-time worker’s situation becomes difficult," and lamented, "It’s unfair, but I think I just have to get through that moment."

Experts emphasize that a social atmosphere respecting the human rights of part-time workers must be established.

Professor Gu Jeong-woo of the Department of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University analyzed, "Discriminating by academic background, saying 'You do this job because you are uneducated,' is caused by our society’s shift toward meritocracy and competition," adding, "As a result, sensitivity to basic human rights is lacking, leading to viewing part-time workers as inferior."

Professor Gu said, "Workplace power abuse has found some solutions through legal systems, but power abuse occurring in daily life has limitations in being resolved by law," and suggested, "Efforts at educational and cultural levels are needed to create a social atmosphere that guarantees human rights."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.