"Is Your Hair Just Decoration?" Insults and Power Abuse... Office Workers Broken in Body and Mind

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A survey revealed that 3 out of 10 office workers suffer mental distress due to insults and defamatory remarks from their superiors. Although the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act (an amendment to the Labor Standards Act) will mark its third year of enforcement this July, many workers still endure power harassment, highlighting the need for effective countermeasures.

According to Yonhap News on the 5th, Workplace Gapjil 119 reported that among 944 email reports received from January to May this year, 513 cases (54.3%) involved workplace harassment. Among the types of harassment, insults and defamation were the most common, accounting for 179 cases (34.9%).

Similar results were found in a survey conducted from March 24 to 31. Workplace Gapjil 119 and the Public Solidarity Fund commissioned Embrain Public, a polling agency, to survey 2,000 office workers. The results showed that 23.5% of workers experienced workplace harassment, with insults and defamation being the highest at 15.7%.

Most of these workers reported mental distress caused by verbal abuse from their superiors. One employee said they were told by their boss, "You are really hopeless" and "I've never seen someone like you" just because of a mistake. Another worker felt deeply insulted after failing to answer a superior’s question in a meeting and being told, "Do you wear your brain as decoration?"

In this regard, the organization pointed out that human dignity is not guaranteed in workplaces in South Korea. They also reported cases where victims were so severely insulted that they were taken to the emergency room or diagnosed with depression, panic disorder, or anxiety disorder at psychiatric clinics, leading them to contemplate extreme measures.

Under current law, insulting someone in front of others constitutes the crime of insult, and defamation by false facts constitutes defamation. Insult can be established even without profanity and is also defined as workplace harassment. If an employee is verbally abused or insulted by a superior in front of multiple colleagues, they can file a complaint with the police by presenting audio recordings or witnesses.

However, it is said that collecting evidence of power harassment is not easy even if it exists. Victims are usually subordinates in the workplace. They often have shorter tenure than the perpetrator and fewer acquaintances. Even if there are witnesses or colleagues, they may be close to the perpetrator or feel pressured to stay silent. Because of this, it is difficult for victims to even obtain a single written statement from coworkers.

In fact, among about 13,000 workplace harassment reports filed with the Ministry of Employment and Labor by the end of last year, 43.5% were withdrawn due to concerns that proving the case would be difficult. Experts suggest expanding victim-centered approaches in workplace harassment cases, granting evidentiary weight to the consistency and rationality of victim testimonies, and easing the burden of proof on victims.

Although verbal abuse containing insults or personal degradation is a widespread form of power harassment, the organization said many victims hesitate to raise issues because there is no direct physical violence and the perpetrator is a superior. They emphasized the need to strengthen punishments for power harassment cases and establish effective countermeasures.

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