[2021 National Audit] Han Seong-sook bows her head over 'workplace bullying' controversy... "I will change all of Naver"

Attendance at the Ministry of Employment and Labor Audit by the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee on the 6th

Hansung-sook, CEO of Naver. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Han Seong-suk, CEO of Naver, said at the National Assembly audit on the 6th, "I believe we must change all the parts that Naver (NAVER) needs to change." She also formally apologized to the bereaved families and employees at the audit session regarding the case where an employee at the company took extreme measures due to workplace harassment.

Han attended the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee’s Ministry of Employment and Labor audit held at the Government Sejong Complex in the afternoon and responded to the criticism from Lee Su-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Lee pointed out that since the implementation of the Workplace Harassment Act in July 2019, Naver had dismissed five company reports, and questioned intensively about the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s special labor inspection results revealing insulting behavior by supervisors. The Ministry’s survey of about 2,000 Naver employees showed that 50.7% experienced harassment in the past six months, and among them, 10.5% reported being repeatedly harassed at least once a week.

In response, CEO Han said, "We have once again recognized several shortcomings internally this time," adding, "No matter how I put it, I was deeply shocked by various aspects related to the irreversible death of the deceased, and I believe we must change all the parts that need to be changed."

To the question from Lee, "Are you willing to create measures such as conducting joint investigations with the labor union or forming a committee to decide on disciplinary actions?" Han replied, "We are internally reviewing various matters including this, and following the Ministry’s special inspection and several recommendations, Naver will also prepare a plan."

Regarding the inquiry, "There have been reports of harassment at the subsidiary Happybean as well; how will you change the working environment?" she said, "Since the legal entities are different, it is difficult for me to speak directly, but Naver is changing, and I believe the subsidiaries will undergo corresponding changes as well," adding, "For now, we are focusing most on changing Naver as a whole."

CEO Han once again apologized to the deceased, bereaved families, and employees at the audit. She said, "As a platform company that must act with great social responsibility, I apologize for the parts where we failed to show such an image."

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