Government Fines POSCO 5 Million Won for 'Sexual Violence Incident'... Secondary Harassment to Face Legal Action

Ministry of Employment Completes Posco's Ex Officio Investigation... 5 Million Won Fine Imposed
"Violation of the Act on Gender Equality in Employment... Secondary Harm to Victims to Be Investigated After Filing"
Confidentiality Not Maintained at Pohang Steelworks... No Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Provided

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The labor authorities have imposed a fine of 5 million KRW on POSCO following a workplace sexual harassment incident. The authorities plan to take legal action against secondary victimization of the victim.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 5th that it will impose a fine of 5 million KRW related to the workplace sexual harassment incident at POSCO Pohang Steelworks. Previously, the Pohang branch of the Ministry of Employment had been conducting an official investigation into the sexual harassment incident that occurred at POSCO Pohang Steelworks since June 21.

The Ministry determined that POSCO violated Article 12 of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. Furthermore, even after confirming the sexual harassment, POSCO delayed taking immediate action to transfer the victim to a different work department as requested. Accordingly, the Ministry decided to impose a fine of 5 million KRW on POSCO.

Secondary victimization of the victim will be subject to legal prosecution. A Ministry official explained, "Acts of secondary victimization such as unfavorable treatment of the victim violate Article 14, Paragraph 6 of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation," adding, "We plan to file charges and proceed with legal action through investigation."

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik responding to a lawmaker's question
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Ha Sa-heon = Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik is answering a lawmaker's question at the Environment and Labor Committee plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on August 3, 2022. 2022.8.3 [Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group]
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Meanwhile, from June 27 to July 4 of this year, alongside the official investigation, the Ministry conducted an organizational culture diagnosis on employment equality targeting all employees at POSCO Pohang Steelworks. The diagnosis revealed that maintaining confidentiality in cases of sexual harassment at POSCO Pohang Steelworks was difficult, and effective sexual harassment prevention education was not conducted. Additionally, some employees who experienced workplace sexual harassment did not respond due to concerns about retaliation after reporting or lack of trust in the company’s internal handling system.

On the 4th, the Ministry announced the results of the organizational culture diagnosis to the management of POSCO Pohang Steelworks. The Ministry instructed the Pohang Steelworks management to submit improvement measures by the end of this month, including ▲ improvement of workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination culture ▲ enhancement of the internal grievance handling system ▲ prevention of secondary damage. Another Ministry official stated, "We will continuously monitor the content and implementation status of POSCO’s improvement measures," and added, "If we judge that the employer lacks willingness to improve, we will actively consider conducting special supervision."

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