"Should Have Used Contraception" "Is Pregnancy a Big Deal?" Childcare Center Director Abuses Teacher Requesting Parental Leave

Director Criticizes Childcare Teacher for "Causing Harm by Getting Pregnant Without a Plan"

It was revealed that the director of a daycare center in Seoul verbally abused a childcare teacher who requested parental leave, saying things like "You should have used contraception."
Photo by YTN Broadcast Screen Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] It has been revealed that the director of a public daycare center in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul verbally abused a pregnant childcare teacher, saying, "Why didn’t you use contraception?" when she requested parental leave.

Childcare teacher A, who works at a public daycare center, posted a message titled "Reporting refusal of parental leave at daycare center" on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 29th of last month.

According to the post, A got married in December last year and found out she was pregnant in September this year. In October of the same year, she requested the director to use parental leave. Having worked for over a year since the daycare center opened, A explained, "I had worked for over a year and was legally eligible to apply for parental leave, and from November 19, prenatal parental leave was also possible."

However, the director verbally abused her, saying, "Why did you get pregnant without planning and cause trouble?" and refused to grant parental leave and maternity leave. A requested parental leave two more times afterward, but the director said, "I absolutely cannot give it," and stated that she would process her as unemployed from March and provide unemployment benefits.

According to a recorded conversation between A and the director reported by YTN on the 1st, the director criticized A with remarks such as, "You should have used contraception, no, that means it was planned, it was unplanned," "You are young, so of course pregnancy is very active," and "I thought you would be careful while using contraception."

The director also said, "If you told me you were getting married, I wouldn’t have stayed with you for long," implying that if she had known about the marriage plans, she would not have hired A.

A claimed that after requesting parental leave, the director retaliated by giving her excessive workloads and making unpleasant remarks. She said, "There is a baby in my belly, yet she continued to swear and make unpleasant comments in front of me, forced me to work overtime and on weekends without additional pay, and didn’t even let me eat dinner until after 9 p.m."

She also heard that the director was gossiping to other teachers, saying things like, "She caused trouble by getting pregnant without planning or contraception," and "Is being pregnant some kind of show?"

A said, "In this day and age, it is unacceptable that a daycare center responsible for childcare refuses parental leave and verbally abuses staff," and stated that she filed a complaint with the district office and plans to take legal action.

Meanwhile, according to the YTN report, the district office recently conducted an investigation into the daycare center. During the investigation, the director reportedly responded, "I didn’t know I had to grant parental leave to employees."

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