"I'll Make You Resign" Company CEO Fined for Pressuring Employee to Quit Due to In-Office Marriage

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The CEO of a company who pressured a female employee to resign after she got married through an office romance was fined by the court.

On the 25th, the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 3 (Presiding Judge Oh Young-pyo) announced that it sentenced A (59), the CEO of a manufacturing company in the Daejeon area, to a fine of 10 million won on charges including violation of the Labor Standards Act.

According to the court, A is accused of continuously pressuring a male and female employee working at his company to resign from the time he learned in early 2018 that the two employees were planning to get married until after they actually got married and returned from their honeymoon.

At the time, A reportedly pressured the male employee by saying things like, "Have her look for another company," and "If you accept a recommended resignation, you can receive a higher severance pay. The company can process a recommended resignation for you."

In particular, after the couple returned from their honeymoon following the wedding, A assigned the female employee to a department unrelated to her major, and it was confirmed that the couple resigned together during this process.

In this regard, the prosecution viewed that A violated the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Balance and the Labor Standards Act, and requested a summary order for a fine of 3 million won.

However, the court increased the fine to 10 million won through a formal trial.

The presiding judge stated, "Pressuring a spouse to resign simply because they dated and married while working at the same workplace is a serious offense," and added, "The defendant showed no remorse at all, and both individuals had to resign, which were considered in sentencing."