One Year of the "Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act," Reporting Rate at 3%... Persistent "Workplace Gapjil"

'Workplace Bullying Prohibition Act' Enforced for 1 Year
Only 3% Report Bullying... 63% of Workers "Just Endure Bullying"
"I Hate My Company" Orion Employee in 20s Makes Extreme Choice Due to Workplace Bullying

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] # Office worker Kim Mo (31) has recently been suffering from insomnia due to severe stress. He said, "My boss seems obsessed with picking on me. Even when I make the same mistake, he singles me out harshly," adding, "I get excessively criticized over trivial matters, so these days, I’m constantly tense at work." He continued, "Even if I want to report it, there’s no way to directly punish the boss. What’s the point of reporting it?"

The amended Labor Standards Act, known as the 'Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act,' has marked its first year since enforcement. However, calls for further amendments persist among office workers. The law lacks direct punishment provisions for perpetrators and does not apply to small businesses with four or fewer employees, leading to criticisms of its ineffectiveness. As a result, complaints of verbal abuse and physical assault in the workplace continue. To enhance the law’s effectiveness, some civic groups have emphasized the need to strengthen mandatory education.

The 'Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act' was enforced on July 16 last year, but limitations remain. Under the Labor Standards Act, workplace harassment is defined as "an act by an employer or worker who uses their superior position or relationship at work to cause physical or mental suffering to another worker or to worsen the working environment beyond an appropriate scope related to work."

Accordingly, for an act to be considered workplace harassment under current law, three conditions must all be met: ▲ the use of superior position or relationship at work ▲ exceeding an appropriate scope related to work ▲ the act causes physical or mental suffering to the worker or worsens the working environment.

However, proving this is not easy. To prove workplace harassment, the victim must record the perpetrator’s verbal abuse or obtain statements from witnessing colleagues, which is itself difficult.

A 29-year-old office worker A, who works at a small or medium-sized enterprise, said, "At some point, my boss started ignoring me and only talked with other team members during meetings, excluding me," adding, "He only called on me when sending errands. I was sent to get coffee and even cigarettes. I wanted to report it because it was unfair, but I couldn’t because it was unclear whether my case qualified as 'workplace harassment.'"

He added, "Even if I reported it, if my case wasn’t recognized as workplace harassment, the boss would probably come to work more confidently. Also, there would be a lot of gossip at the company. It seemed like it would be a difficult situation."

The "Citizen and Social Group for Mourning and Fact-Finding of the Death of a Young Worker at Orion Iksan Factory" held a press conference in front of Orion Iksan Plant 3 on the morning of the 29th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, Citizen and Social Group

The voices of office workers complaining of verbal abuse and physical assault at work remain strong. According to a survey conducted by Workplace Gapjil 119 from the 19th to the 25th of last month targeting 1,000 workers aged 19 to 55, nearly half (45.4%) of respondents experienced workplace harassment in the past year.

However, only 3% of those who experienced abuse reported it. More than half of the respondents (62.9%) endured or ignored the abuse. Other responses included ▲ personally protesting (49.6%) ▲ consulting friends (48.2%) ▲ resigning (32.9%).

In March, there was a case where a worker in their 20s at the Orion factory suffered workplace harassment and took extreme measures. The late Seo Mo (22), who worked at Orion’s Iksan factory in Jeonbuk, reportedly suffered harassment due to workplace rumors and department transfers.

Seo was reportedly called by superiors even outside working hours and forced to write self-criticism reports, crying in distress. Seo, who was dating within the company, also complained to a friend about senior workers making remarks like "flirting" and "trying to seduce men." Seo’s suicide note reportedly included phrases such as "I hate Orion so much," "What’s money," and "I want to stop now."

Orion issued a statement on the 30th of last month, saying, "According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s investigation, the deceased’s superior’s demand for a self-criticism report was deemed workplace harassment," and "We will comply with the Ministry’s improvement guidance and recommendations."

Meanwhile, Workplace Gapjil 119 stated, "Unlike physical assault, which is relatively easier to punish, verbal abuse is difficult to punish under the crimes of insult and defamation because they require public exposure, and verbal abuse occurring only between perpetrator and victim is hard to prove."

They emphasized the need to enhance the law’s effectiveness by adding provisions such as ▲ explicit punishment for perpetrators ▲ application to special persons (relatives, primary contractors, residents, etc.) ▲ application to workplaces with four or fewer employees ▲ prompt investigation, victim protection, punishment for failure to discipline perpetrators ▲ and strengthening mandatory education.

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