Over 10,000 Reports of 'Workplace Harassment'... Prosecution Referral Rate Only 0.9%

Six out of Ten Workplaces Have 'Fewer than 50 Employees'
Yoon Joon-byung: "There Are Practical Issues... Need to Systematize the System"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Since the implementation of the Workplace Harassment Prevention Act, over the past two years, more than 11,000 reports have been filed, but cases referred to the prosecution accounted for less than 1% of the total. More than half of the reports came from small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

According to data received on the 29th from the Ministry of Employment and Labor by Rep. Yoon Junbyung of the Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party, a total of 11,656 reports were filed from July 2019, when the workplace harassment prohibition clause was enacted, until July of this year. By year, there were 2,130 reports in 2019, 5,823 in 2020, and 3,703 from January to July 2021, showing an increasing trend.

By workplace size, reports from businesses with fewer than 50 employees numbered 6,798, accounting for 58.3% of the total. This was followed by 1,869 reports (16.0%) from workplaces with 300 or more employees, and 1,512 reports (13.0%) from workplaces with 100 to 299 employees.

By type, verbal abuse was the most common with 5,212 cases (35.7%). This was followed by unfair personnel actions with 2,348 cases (16.1%), ostracism and slander with 1,725 cases (11.8%), and discrimination with 482 cases (3.3%). Additionally, reports related to physical assault amounted to 346 cases (2.4%).

Source=Office of Yoon Joon-byung, Democratic Party of Korea

Although over 11,000 reports were filed, only 106 cases (0.9% of the total) were referred to the prosecution. Improvement guidance was also limited to 1,532 cases (13.1%), raising concerns that workplace harassment incidents are being met with lenient punishments.

Rep. Yoon stated, "More than 10,000 reports have been filed so far, but prosecution referrals are less than 1%, raising questions about the legal effectiveness of the law. The government must establish a systematic system from reporting to action regarding workplace harassment," emphasizing the need for a structured approach.

Yoon Joon-byung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. (Photo by Yonhap News)