Refusal to Prepare Lunch Leads to Being Sent to a 'Saemaeul Geumgo' Room... Workplace Harassment Recognized Against Female Employee, Compensation Ordered

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A female employee of Saemaeul Geumgo who was subjected to workplace harassment, including being urged to resign for refusing to prepare lunch for colleagues and working alone in a small room, has been ordered to receive compensation.

On the 21st, the Busan District Court Civil Division 5 (Presiding Judge Shin Min-seok) ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs in a wage lawsuit filed by the National Saemaeul Geumgo Labor Union and female employee A against a Saemaeul Geumgo branch in Busan.

According to the court, recognizing unfair labor practices and workplace harassment, Saemaeul Geumgo was ordered to pay the union 5 million KRW and A a total of 28.56 million KRW in wages and compensation.

A, who joined as a contract worker in 2013, was assigned to a branch after being converted to a regular employee in 2018, and from then on was responsible for preparing lunch for seven employees.

In April 2019, when A told the chairman and the executive director that she could not prepare lunch, the executive director urged her to resign.

The day after being urged to resign, A joined the labor union and notified the management, demanding collective bargaining. The management then refused to allow the union, encouraged her to withdraw, and instructed her to write a statement explaining the circumstances.

Subsequently, the management assigned A 27 tasks, far more than the original three, and daily under the pretext of research tasks, ordered her to handwrite more than six pages about work methods, her first impressions, and points to improve.

Also, in October 2019, under management’s orders, A worked alone at a desk in a small room with a small safe. Feeling pressured as if trapped, A reported to the police and was helped out of the room by paramedics. She was later diagnosed with adjustment disorder, depressive disorder, and panic disorder due to stress.

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