Seoul City Supports Small Businesses with Fewer Than 30 Employees Vulnerable to 'Sexual Harassment Prevention System'

'With You Seoul Workplace Sexual Harassment and Violence Prevention Center' Opens on the 15th

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Seoul City will open the 'With You Seoul Workplace Sexual Harassment and Violence Prevention Center (Director Park Hyun-yi)' on the 15th to support workplaces with fewer than 30 employees, where legal and institutional sexual harassment prevention systems are weak.

Since the spread of the Me Too movement in 2018, the city has prepared a plan to promote a gender-equal Seoul free from sexual harassment and violence and has been working to open a center to support small-scale workplaces.

The newly opened Seoul Workplace Sexual Harassment and Violence Prevention Center will provide free organizational culture consulting to small workplaces with fewer than 30 employees that have difficulty establishing workplace sexual harassment prevention systems. Through the 'With You Consulting Expert Committee,' composed of lawyers, labor attorneys, sexual violence counselors, and gender research experts, the center will ▲ diagnose the current status of gender-equal organizational culture ▲ support revisions to employment rules for sexual harassment prevention ▲ and assist in introducing sexual harassment grievance procedures.

Small workplaces in Seoul can also take the legally mandated workplace sexual harassment prevention education for free. Employers are required to provide sexual harassment prevention education at least once a year, and failure to comply results in a fine of 5 million KRW. The center will operate 'Visiting Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention Education' year-round and provide lectures with specific cases on ▲ checking gender-equal culture within organizations ▲ understanding the concept and causes of sexual harassment ▲ guidance on dispute resolution procedures for sexual harassment grievances ▲ and information on employer obligations and roles.

For the first time among local governments, the center will also provide free legal expert appointment and accompaniment services for victims of workplace sexual harassment. While legal support systems exist for victims in general sexual violence civil and criminal cases (under the Act on the Prevention of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victims), there has been no legal support system for workplace sexual harassment victims seeking to file complaints, accusations, or reports with the Ministry of Employment and Labor based on the Act on Gender Equality in Employment and Work.

Victims urgently need support such as submission and review of legal documents (complaints, statements of reasons, company statements, etc.), accompaniment during interviews with Ministry of Employment and Labor labor inspectors and employers, and assistance with phone calls and visits to the Ministry to pursue judicial remedies and administrative procedures related to workplace sexual harassment. To establish a practical support system for victims, the center selected and signed agreements in July with three specialized organizations through a public contest: the Women's Labor Law Support Center, the Korea Sexual Violence Crisis Center, and the Korean Women Workers Association.

Additionally, the center will promote joint projects to improve workplace organizational culture by signing business agreements with companies to prevent workplace sexual harassment. It will also conduct contests and campaigns that citizens can participate in.

Song Da-young, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Policy Office, said, "Small workplaces find it difficult to systematically establish sexual harassment prevention and victim support systems. The Seoul Workplace Sexual Harassment and Violence Prevention Center will serve as a hub to create an environment where workers can work safely and with gender equality."