Controversy Over Dog Meat Abuse at Saemaeul Geumgo... Now Female Employee Sexual Harassment

At a Saemaeul Geumgo in Incheon, the chairman was accused of making sexually harassing remarks to a female employee in her 20s and instructing employees to perform cleaning tasks that were not included in their labor contracts.

According to an SBS report on the 15th, Ms. A, a woman in her 20s who worked at a branch of Seo Incheon Saemaeul Geumgo, heard the chairman say "Now everything has ripened" in July 2021.

At a Saemaeul Geumgo in Incheon, the chairman was accused of making sexually harassing remarks to a female employee in her 20s and instructing employees to perform cleaning tasks not included in their labor contracts. The image is unrelated to the specific content of the article.
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Regarding this, Ms. A explained to SBS, "He asked, 'You know what I mean by saying you have ripened, right?' It felt like he was saying (my body) had developed."

Ms. A filed a complaint, stating that she suffered not only sexual harassment but also from the chairman’s loud and harsh behavior related to personnel matters. However, the chairman denied the remarks, saying, "I said she looked mature and dignified. It was a compliment. I never said 'ripened'."

In this regard, the Saemaeul Geumgo Central Association judged in May last year that the chairman’s remarks constituted workplace harassment, but after six months, the disciplinary action taken against the chairman was only a mild reprimand.

Later, Ms. A also filed a complaint with the Labor Office, but the office only issued a single administrative guidance letter asking for improvements and closed the case without a separate investigation, citing the Central Association’s disciplinary action.

The Saemaeul Geumgo in question had previously caused controversy in 2017 when the chairman made employees boil dog meat, and the current chairman took office in 2020 as his successor.

In addition to sexual harassment, there were further controversies related to the Saemaeul Geumgo chairman. It was reported that the chairman instructed employees to perform office and restroom cleaning duties that were not part of their labor contracts.

Pregnant employee Ms. B reported this to the Labor Office, but the office only issued administrative guidance, urging the company to find a solution.

Internal CCTV footage released by SBS shows one employee mopping the floor with a sackcloth, another employee emptying trash bins while walking around the office, and also scenes of employees washing mops inside the restroom for cleaning.

In response, the chairman explained, "Employees cleaning has been happening since before I took office," adding, "Last year, the head office already established a related plan and notified that from next year, outsourcing would be used."

The chairman, who oversees the management of regional Saemaeul Geumgo branches, is mostly elected through an indirect election by the credit union delegates and is known to hold long-term power for over 10 years. The chairman also holds personnel authority over all credit union employees, earning the nickname 'king of a small kingdom.'

In particular, there is a position called 'Internal Control Officer' responsible for auditing each credit union, but since the personnel authority for this position also effectively belongs to the chairman, it is known that the system lacks a proper check-and-balance function.

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