"Son~ If you don't study, you'll end up like that security guard."

Security Workers Bruised by Verbal Abuse, Insults, and Contempt
Unfair Orders Persist Despite 'Apartment Complex Management Act'
"Job Insecurity Prevents Raising Issues... Measures Needed"

Workplace Bullying 119 announced the 'Security Worker Bullying Report' on the 16th. The report contains the actual conditions of bullying damage compiled from in-depth interviews conducted by Workplace Bullying 119 last October with a total of nine people, including five security workers, one cleaning worker, one building manager, and two technical staff from the management office.

According to the report, all nine workers responded that they experienced bullying from residents, such as yelling, insults, appearance disparagement, belittlement of their work as menial, and unfair work orders and interference.

A security worker is sorting recyclables at an apartment in Seoul. This is not directly related to the article.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min, Asia Economy

"Residents openly belittled their children by saying things like 'Study hard. If you don't, you'll end up like that man,' and some said things like 'Why did you hire someone short and ugly? Change them immediately,' or verbally abused them by saying, '(About leaving the light on in the security booth) Would you leave the light on if it were your house?'"

Among the nine, six experienced 'primary contractor bullying,' such as carrying out unfair orders outside of their duties, similar to the 70-year-old security worker at an apartment in Gangnam, Seoul, who recently took extreme measures.

Security worker A stated, "I suddenly had to clean the septic tank on the building manager's orders. I worked in a place where sewage reached up to my ankles, and after finishing, I had to apply medicine for over two weeks due to poisoning." There were also cases where workers were pressured to resign or had their work locations changed when conflicts with residents occurred.

Security worker B revealed, "After asking a resident to move their car, I was threatened with being fired by the management office, saying, 'What right do you have to say anything as a security guard?'"

Four out of the nine workers reported receiving such dismissal threats from residents.

The fundamental reasons security workers are exposed to bullying... indirect employment structure and ultra-short-term work contracts

A banner containing a promise from residents to coexist with the security guards is hung at an apartment in Seoul city.
[Photo by Kim Hyun-min, Asia Economy]

Workplace Bullying 119 identified the fundamental reasons security workers are exposed to bullying by residents and service companies as the indirect employment structure and ultra-short-term work contract periods.

All nine workers surveyed had employment forms involving repeated short-term contracts of less than one year. The contract periods for security workers employed by security companies were even shorter. Four out of five signed contracts every three months, and one signed monthly contracts.

Workplace Bullying 119 pointed out the need for measures to protect related workers, including ▲ mandatory employment succession when changing service companies ▲ strengthening the responsibility of residents' representative meetings ▲ sanctioning residents who bully ▲ expanding the application scope of the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act.

Meanwhile, according to the National Law Information Center, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport implemented the 'Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules Amendment of the Apartment Housing Management Act' (commonly known as the 'Security Guard Bullying Prevention Act') in October 2021, establishing a legal framework to protect security workers from bullying. According to this law, residents of apartment complexes cannot demand security workers to perform tasks such as valet parking or delivering parcels to households.

Nevertheless, a natural superior-subordinate relationship is formed between the actual employers, the residents, and the security workers, making the chronic problem of bullying difficult to resolve.

A banner reading "Improvement of Security Guard Titles" is hung at an apartment in Seoul city.
[Photo by Mun Honam, Asia Economy]

According to the Security Worker Bullying Damage Support Center of the Gyeonggi Workers' Rights Center, the number of consultations related to bullying damage, including counseling for apartment security workers, increased from 19 cases in 2020 to 187 cases in 2021. Even last year, when the Security Guard Bullying Prevention Act was fully enforced, 73 consultations were received, indicating that bullying damage has not ceased.

Moreover, since reporting of bullying damage often does not proceed smoothly, the Gyeonggi Workers' Rights Center believes that the actual number of security workers suffering damage is even higher. In particular, most apartment security workers sign ultra-short-term contracts of three months, so they often avoid publicizing bullying issues to secure contract renewals.

Jung Hyun-chul, Secretary-General of Workplace Bullying 119, emphasized, "Even though there is a 'law,' a superior-subordinate relationship is formed where residents and management offices are the superiors and security workers are the subordinates, so security workers cannot protest and have no choice but to endure harassment," adding, "Since what apartment security workers want most is to extend their employment contract periods, improving their working conditions is necessary."