Public Institution Executive Suspended for 2 Months
Court: "Constitutes Sexual Harassment and Workplace Bullying"
"Manage him well because your husband might cheat on you"
"Have fun. Sing or dance, or just go die"
"Korean ajummas are amazing"
A court ruling has confirmed that disciplinary action against a public institution executive who received a suspension for misogynistic remarks and verbal abuse was lawful.
According to the legal community on the 5th, the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch Civil Division 1 (Chief Judge Jang Su-young) ruled against Mr. A, in his 50s, who filed a lawsuit against B Corporation in Wonju Innovation City seeking to nullify his suspension.
Mr. A, an executive at B Corporation’s Southeast Asian overseas branch, was disciplined with a two-month suspension in March 2021 following the grievance committee’s review, which found that 16 out of 37 reported grievance cases from 2019 to 2020 constituted workplace harassment and sexual harassment.
Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit in objection, but the court judged that all 16 disciplinary reasons against him were valid.
The court stated, "It is recognized that he said things like 'The corporation’s people come out several times to educate their children in the first and second years of high school, Korean ajummas are amazing. Now they are being punished by a boomerang effect,'" adding, "This expresses a negative perception of female employees’ attitudes toward the workplace and constitutes workplace harassment."
Additionally, Mr. A reportedly said at a farewell party for local employees, "Until the food comes out, entertain us. Sing or dance, or just go die." The court also regarded the act of making employees come to work before the government approved reopening during COVID-19 as "workplace harassment."
Moreover, during a lunch meeting for routine work discussions, Mr. A told an external business associate, "Your father-in-law might have a mistress. Your husband might cheat on you, so manage him well," which the court found reasonable to consider as sexual harassment.
The court noted, "The plaintiff not only violated local laws in handling work but also repeatedly made remarks constituting workplace harassment and sexual harassment by excessively reprimanding employees and creating a gender-discriminatory work environment."
It further stated, "The plaintiff’s misconduct is serious and highly condemnable, and there are no procedural defects in the disciplinary process," concluding, "The two-month suspension is not excessively harsh to the extent that it significantly lacks social reasonableness."
Since Mr. A did not appeal after the first trial verdict, this ruling has become final.
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