[2021 National Audit] "Naver Workplace Harassment Death, Ministry of Employment Labor Inspection Exemption Blamed"

Nowungrae "Naver received labor inspections twice in 22 years
Has not undergone any labor inspections in the past 14 years"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The recent workplace harassment death incident at Naver (NAVER) and the large-scale labor law violations, including 8.6 billion KRW in unpaid wages, have been attributed to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's lax labor inspection system, according to criticism from the National Assembly.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Roh Woong-rae, a member of the Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party, on the 21st, Naver has undergone labor inspections only three times since its founding in 1999. Excluding the special inspection following the recent workplace harassment death incident, regular inspections were conducted only twice in 22 years, and none have been carried out in the past 14 years.

According to Representative Roh, Naver underwent labor inspections related to the labor-management council in July 2004 after its founding in June 1999, and again in 2007 for failing to fulfill employer obligations regarding dispatched workers. After that, it was exempted from labor inspections for seven years without any special reason. In 2014, it was exempted from regular inspections as an excellent company for gender employment equality, in 2016 as one of the top 100 excellent companies for job creation, and in 2019 as a leading job company, resulting in no labor inspections for 14 years until recently.

Representative Roh pointed out that Naver was able to avoid labor inspections due to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's lax labor inspection exemption system. Under the current system, there are seven conditions under which labor inspections can be exempted: ▲Master companies and model companies under the Skilled Technology Promotion Act ▲Excellent companies for employing persons with disabilities ▲Companies with excellent labor-management culture and recipients of the labor-management culture award ▲Excellent companies for gender employment equality ▲Leading job companies in Korea ▲Companies certified as excellent human resource development institutions ▲Companies participating in the Work Innovation Incentive program recognized as excellent. Each of these categories grants a three-year exemption from labor inspections.

Representative Roh criticized the Ministry of Employment and Labor for having too many exemption criteria. He especially pointed out the lack of restrictions on consecutive exemptions, which allows cases like Naver to be exempted from labor inspections for over a decade. In Naver's case, if regular inspections had been conducted on time, the situation where more than half of all employees experienced workplace harassment or the tens of billions of won in unpaid wages could have been prevented, according to Representative Roh.

Representative Roh stated, "Exempting labor inspections or tax audits is merely an administrative convenience and should not be used as a form of reward," and criticized, "In Naver's case, exempting labor inspections for over a decade under the name of being an excellent company actually led to large-scale labor law violations."

He added, "The exemption criteria for labor inspections should be drastically reduced, and regulations prohibiting consecutive exemptions should be established so that, at least for large corporations, labor inspections are conducted at least once every three years."

Naver Labor Inspection Status. (Data provided by the office of No Woong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea)