"If You're Upset, Just Change Jobs"... LH with Closed Conscience on 'Blind'

Employee Suspected Author's Post Causes Stir
Nationwide Disillusionment and Anger Intensify

Positive Effects of Improving Anonymity Practices
Negative Effects of Highlighting Minority Opinions Too

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] "If you're upset, just transfer to our company."

"Is there a law that LH employees can't invest in real estate?"

This is a post written by someone presumed to be an employee of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) on the anonymous workplace social networking service (SNS) 'Blind.' As suspicions of speculative investment by LH employees in the 3rd New Town development area grow, posts on Blind are amplifying the public's sense of frustration and anger.

Blind is an anonymous community mainly used to monitor industry trends or to whistleblow on workplace issues. Since membership requires verification through a company email account, only current and former employees can use it. As of last month, there are 3.2 million domestic members and 1.2 million users in the United States. It is especially noted for freely discussing topics such as job changes, salaries, and organizational culture, and for serving as a channel to expose unfair treatment experienced at work.

However, recently, posts presumed to be from LH employees mocking the public criticism over a series of incidents have sparked controversy. One author posted, "Anyway, in a month or two, this will be forgotten," and added, "No matter how much you (the public) rage, I will continue to speculate under borrowed names and enjoy my retirement benefits."

On the 8th, someone claiming to be an LH employee posted on Blind mocking protesters gathered to condemn the pre-development speculation in the new town, saying, "I can't hear you from the 28th floor. Sweet."

On the 4th, another post stated, "Is there a law that LH employees can't invest in real estate?" and added, "Whether the speculation was done unfairly using insider information or based on personal study is a matter for the courts or prosecutors to decide," which sparked public outrage.

While Blind has functioned positively by leveraging anonymity to improve internal malpractices and wrong customs, its negative aspects have recently come to the fore. In particular, there is a significant risk that the opinions of a few may be mistakenly perceived as representing the entire company's stance or atmosphere. Last month, when the issue of KBS license fee increases arose, a post presumed to be from a KBS employee said, "Please stop badmouthing our staff outside, and if you have the ability and opportunity, become one of our colleagues," which also caused controversy.

As posts on Blind have become a hot topic, LH stated, "The recent posts on Blind and other platforms do not reflect the internal atmosphere of LH," and added, "We will actively respond to posts with unverified facts." However, regardless of LH's intentions, it seems difficult to identify the authors.

When joining Blind, the company email entered to guarantee anonymity is used only to verify employment status, and afterward, the link to the Blind account is severed. This means users cannot be identified by their Blind accounts alone. In fact, users cannot use the usual password recovery methods, nor can the email owner's records be accessed.

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