Small Business Owner Who Threw Ashtray at Employee Receives Reduced Sentence in Appeal Trial

Small Business CEO Who Repeatedly Committed Verbal and Physical Abuse Receives Reduced Sentence in Appeal
Law: "Acknowledged Crime and Showed Remorse... Reached Amicable Settlement with Victim"

The CEO of a small and medium-sized enterprise who repeatedly verbally abused employees and even threw an ashtray at an employee's face received a reduced sentence in the appellate court.

On the 14th, the Criminal Division 3 of the Daejeon High Court (Chief Judge Kim Byeong-sik) announced that it sentenced Mr. A (52), the CEO of a certain small and medium-sized enterprise in Hongseong-gun, Chungnam, to two years in prison with a four-year probation and 80 hours of community service for charges including special injury, insult, and violation of the Labor Standards Act. This overturned the original sentence of two years in prison.

Previously, on April 13 of last year, Mr. A threw a crystal glass ashtray from the table at employee Mr. B (in his 40s) during a meeting at his company's office located in Hongseong-gun. In addition, he was charged with verbally abusing Mr. B in front of other employees. As a result of the incident, Mr. B suffered injuries including a laceration on his forehead requiring two weeks of medical treatment and underwent suturing surgery at a hospital.

Mr. A was also charged with insulting Mr. B in the company's group chat. In the same month, in the company group chat with all employees, Mr. A ordered, "There are crazy people here, so recreate the group chat," causing emotional harm to Mr. B. Furthermore, that evening, Mr. A personally contacted Mr. B and pressured him to resign by saying, "I will give you money if you quit the company." When Mr. B refused, Mr. A convened a disciplinary committee and decided on dismissal. The Chungnam Regional Labor Relations Commission has ruled this dismissal as unfair.

The first trial court stated, "He used his superior position to destroy the victim's dignity and self-esteem," and "He made company employees submit petitions for leniency to receive a favorable sentence, making it impossible for the victim to return to the company." The court added, "To eradicate the culture of power abuse in our society, a severe punishment is necessary," and sentenced him to two years in prison. Upon receiving the prison sentence, Mr. A appealed, saying, "I asked a female employee to take him to the hospital," and "How can you say he did not apologize when he caused the company damage due to negligence at work?"

However, the appellate court's judgment differed significantly from the first trial court. The appellate court stated, "He threw a dangerous object at an employee during a meeting causing injury and pressured him to resign," and "Considering the physical and mental suffering of the victim, the guilt is by no means light, but taking into account his admission of the crime, remorse, and amicable settlement with the victim," explained the reasons for the sentencing.

7 out of 10 Korean Workers Have Experienced Workplace Bullying

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, workplace bullying is judged based on whether there was an abuse of workplace relationships or hierarchical superiority, whether the conduct exceeded appropriate work boundaries, and whether it caused physical or mental suffering or worsened the work environment. When a victim reports to the company, the company must immediately start an investigation, and depending on the results, the reporter should be given measures such as workplace transfer or paid leave, and the perpetrator should be disciplined. If the company disadvantages the reporter, it faces imprisonment of up to three years or a fine. According to a 2017 survey by the National Human Rights Commission, 7 out of 10 Korean workers (73.3%) have experienced bullying, raising calls for more systematic legislation against workplace power abuse.

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