"Why This Bonus Grade?" Civil Servant Who Assaulted HR Employee... Court Rules Demotion Is Justified

Court: "Violation of Duty to Maintain Dignity"

A civil servant who assaulted an HR team employee over a bonus grade issue filed an administrative lawsuit after being demoted, but lost the case.

According to Yonhap News on May 20, the Incheon District Court Administrative Division 1-2 (Chief Judge Choi Sangsoo) ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Mr. A, an official of Michuhol District Office, seeking to overturn the demotion imposed by the head of Michuhol District Office.

Court image. The Asia Business Daily database

On March 25 last year, around 1:00 p.m., Mr. A verbally abused and assaulted HR team employee Mr. B four to five times in the General Affairs Division of the Michuhol District Office in Incheon. When Mr. B began recording the incident with his mobile phone, Mr. A pushed him in an attempt to stop the recording and continued with further verbal abuse and profanity.

An investigation found that Mr. A acted in this manner after being notified of his performance bonus and expressing dissatisfaction with the bonus grade he received.

After being demoted, Mr. A also filed an appeal with the Incheon Metropolitan City Personnel Appeals Committee, but his request was dismissed, leading him to file an administrative lawsuit.

During the trial, Mr. A argued that he requested counseling for a personnel grievance due to his objection to the grade, and claimed that his subsequent complaints stemmed from what he perceived as a perfunctory response from the employee.

However, the court found that Mr. A's misconduct violated the obligations of integrity and maintaining dignity required by the Local Public Officials Act. The court stated, "Mr. A complained in informal language and made personal derogatory remarks to Mr. B, who had asked him to revisit after 5:00 p.m. since he was working at the time," adding, "It is clear that this did not follow the objection procedures or the personnel counseling protocols set forth in the performance bonus payment plan."

The court further stated, "Based on the various pieces of evidence, it is difficult to conclude that the District Office's disciplinary action lacked reasonableness," and dismissed the plaintiff's claim, noting that "the public interest to be achieved by this action cannot be considered less significant than the disadvantage Mr. A will suffer."

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