"Why the Male Staff Restroom Laundry?" Verbal Abuse Returned When Questioned... Additional Revelations Emerge

From the First Day at Work, Handover Includes 'Rice and Water Quantity and How to Cook Rice'
"Why Should I Wash Towels?" When Questioned... "Ask Your Mom," Boss Snaps and Abuses
Pressured to Resign for Skipping Company Dinners, Threatened with Dismissal... Verbal Abuse and Personnel Transfers Follow

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[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] Last month, A, who claimed gender-discriminatory abuse at a Saemaeul Geumgo in Namwon, Jeonbuk, additionally revealed that after raising issues about the statement "female employees should cook and do laundry," she faced verbal abuse and personnel retaliation from her superior.

A, who joined Saemaeul Geumgo through the open recruitment in August 2020, was assigned cooking and towel laundry duties from her very first day at work. A's official duties were office work such as customer service at the counter and deposit transactions. On August 1, appearing on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' A said, "The person who handed over the duties was a woman in her 50s who told me what time to cook and the amount of rice and water. From that moment, I felt something was a bit strange."

The laundry and meal preparation tasks were mainly handled by female employees. According to A, the abuses she experienced so far included cooking, washing towels from the men's restroom, forced participation in company dinners, and verbal abuse such as "I can fire you," and "Who would like someone like you?"

A raised the issue of washing men's restroom towels for the first time one year after joining. A said, "Only the men's restroom in the branch had towels, and I was told to wash those towels. I am a female employee, not a male employee." She added, "I politely said that it would be better if the users of the men's restroom washed the towels themselves."

However, the response was an 'outburst.' A claimed, "The chairman said, 'Go ask your mother. Can you tell male employees to wash towels?' He even brought up my parents in a rude verbal attack."

After raising the issue, A reportedly suffered workplace harassment without reason. A said, "I overheard the chairman talking about this incident to the managing director. I was scared as the matter seemed to be escalating, so a few days later, I apologized saying that I was a bit embarrassed because my background was different from theirs, and after that, I washed the towels as instructed."

Despite COVID-19, forced company dinners and the chairman's harsh remarks toward employees continued. A said, "The chairman strongly pressured us to attend company dinners. Even during the COVID-19 situation, he insisted on forced dinners. If I said I wouldn't go, he called me to come out, and even called employees who had already left work to come back. Employees who did not attend were scolded by supervisors under the chairman."

Furthermore, A revealed, "During the COVID-19 period, I once did not attend a company dinner. The branch manager called me separately and said, 'If you keep not attending dinners like this, the chairman might fire you based on other reasons.' He also often said things like, 'Company dinners are part of work life, so if you don't participate, you should resign.'"

Also, in June, when A was unwell and did not attend a workshop, the chairman reportedly said, "You seem to be faking it. Don't you apologize to the employees? Write a report explaining this." The next day, A said there was a personnel transfer. A added, "In our Geumgo, regular personnel transfers happen every two years, and we already had one in January. I was working under a new job assignment, but suddenly there was a transfer after six months."

Currently on paid leave, A explained the reason for deciding to report. A said, "Not seeing their faces has made things a bit better. Before I took company leave, it was very difficult. I decided to report because whether I get retaliated against later or continue living a painful life as is, it seemed there was not much difference. Now that I am under investigation, I listen to recordings again, and just listening to them makes my heart race and my hands tremble. I think I still haven't fully overcome the fear and trauma."

Regarding the Saemaeul Geumgo abuse case exposed by A, the Ministry of Employment and Labor formed a special labor inspection team on the 26th of last month and began a special inspection. The Ministry stated that the special inspection plans to thoroughly examine labor-related laws including the Labor Standards Act. In addition to a detailed investigation, they plan to conduct an overall diagnosis of the organizational culture. Any illegal matters confirmed through the special inspection will be subject to judicial action, and the investigation results and organizational culture diagnosis will be disclosed for all workers to see.

Finally, A said, "I hope that others who are suffering will take courage and report as well. I hope this can be an opportunity to root out the wrong organizational culture."

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