Naver Union: "Choi In-hyuk COO, Who Protected Workplace Bullying, Should Be Dismissed from All Affiliates"

[Asia Economy reporters Kang Nahum and Boo Aeri] The Naver labor union has demanded the resignation of former Naver COO (Chief Operating Officer) Choi Inhyuk from all affiliated companies, holding him responsible for the case of a Naver employee who took their own life. Although former COO Choi announced his resignation from the COO position on the 25th, he still retains his roles as director and auditor concurrently held at seven affiliated companies, including CEO of Naver Financial.

The Naver branch of the National Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Workers' Union announced the results of its internal investigation on the 28th regarding employee A’s extreme choice and made these demands to management.

The union stated, "While it is clear that Executive B, the responsible leader, was the main perpetrator who directly harassed the deceased, the reason he could wield unchecked power was because he was protected by former COO Choi, who held significant authority as a management leader and concurrently served as CIC and executive of affiliated companies."

They added, "The fault of former COO Choi, who had the duty to manage and supervise workplace harassment and ensure that employees work in a safe environment, is by no means less than that of Executive B," and demanded "the removal of former COO Choi from all positions at Naver and its seven affiliated companies."

The union also requested the company to form a Reoccurrence Prevention Committee (tentative name). This body would be composed equally of labor and management representatives to oversee fair investigations from internal reporting of workplace harassment to disciplinary decisions. Furthermore, they emphasized the need to reduce the excessive authority concentrated in team leaders and establish a joint labor-management system to foster good leadership and resolve the problem of power monopolization by a small group of executives.

In its final report released that day, the union analyzed the causes of employee A’s death as: ▲ excessive workload and unclear work instructions ▲ absolute personnel authority of a violent and threatening executive throughout company life ▲ irresponsible responses from management and the HR system. This conclusion was drawn from in-depth telephone interviews and face-to-face meetings conducted with over 60 current and former colleagues of employee A from the 31st of last month to the 23rd of this month.

According to the report, the deceased had been continuously engaged in intense work this year to meet the early May launch target of a project they were in charge of and to handle post-launch issues. The union noted that Executive B had full authority over personnel decisions such as employee A’s performance evaluation, salary increase rate, incentive (performance bonus) levels, and stock option grants, making it difficult for employee A to refuse work assignments.

The union further claimed that despite negative feedback about Executive B, identified as the perpetrator, being conveyed through management meetings, HR interviews during resignation and transfer, and upward evaluations over more than two years, the company took no action and instead granted Executive B even stronger authority.

The union declared, "Until our two demands?the resignation of former COO Choi and the formation of the Reoccurrence Prevention Committee?are accepted, union members will engage in collective actions," and announced, "We will begin picketing starting tomorrow (the 29th)."

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