Naver Union: "Suffering from Verbal Abuse and Excessive Work Orders... Management Neglects"

[Asia Economy Reporters Kang Nahum and Boo Aeri] A recent investigation revealed that a Naver employee who took an extreme step was subjected to continuous verbal abuse and excessive workload from a superior. It was also found that the company management ignored these issues despite repeated complaints from employees.

The Naver labor union ‘Gongdongseongmyeong’ held a press conference in front of the Bundang office building on the 7th to announce the results of their own investigation.

The union stated, "The deceased suffered from excessive work orders regardless of nights, holidays, or vacations due to overwhelming workload," and added, "They endured mental pressure from unfair work instructions and insulting behavior by Executive A, who abused their position, as well as unreasonable work demands that could not be resolved."

On the day, a colleague of the deceased testified, "The deceased worked on weekends and late at night, and always responded to work-related contacts even while eating," adding, "They worked without taking even the minimum rest time of one hour per day."

The union particularly claimed that the death of the employee was not unrelated to the company’s neglect. The union emphasized, “The deceased and colleagues followed internal procedures for nearly two years to demand improvements, but were ignored,” and “The company, which irresponsibly neglected the situation, is also responsible for the tragic choice of the deceased.”

The union demanded that the company establish a recurrence prevention committee involving union participation after the investigation and inquiry. They also urged strict punishment for the responsible superiors and an apology from the management to the deceased and their bereaved family.

Based on the interim investigation results announced that day, the union plans to continue its own fact-finding investigation. To this end, they requested from the company data such as messenger logs to verify the deceased’s working hours, internal network access records, attendance records, internal messenger exchanges between the deceased and executives, and materials related to the report and handling process of Executive A earlier this year.

Immediately after the press conference, the union submitted a ‘Special Labor Inspection Petition’ to the Seongnam branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Oh Seyoon, head of the Naver union branch, said, “We found circumstances that make it difficult for members to report workplace harassment,” and added, “An active investigation must be conducted to determine whether the company fulfilled its responsibilities to prevent this tragedy.”