Gwangju Metropolitan City has been criticized for responding complacently with passive administration in eradicating workplace harassment and realizing a happy public service community.
On the 22nd, Gwangju City Council member Chae Eun-ji stated in a 5-minute speech at the 2nd extraordinary session of the 315th meeting, “Workplace harassment continues to occur at the Gwangju City Hall and its affiliated organizations,” and added, “Active measures and institutional improvements by Gwangju City are necessary to root out workplace harassment.”
She continued, “In the past three years alone, 32 cases of workplace power abuse have been reported in public institutions under Gwangju City,” asserting, “Considering the difficulty of reporting due to the nature of public institutions and the possibility of false reports, this is still a significant number.”
She also emphasized, “There is a severe shortage of personnel responsible for handling power abuse within affiliated organizations, and it is necessary to build trust in the power abuse reporting center and actively promote it,” adding, “The principle of strict punishment for perpetrators must be thoroughly upheld.”
Furthermore, she pointed out, “Among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide, 13 cities including Seoul and Incheon have their audit departments handle power abuse cases, but Gwangju City is promoting this through the Autonomous Administration Bureau, which is not suitable for the nature of the work, showing its limitations.”
She lamented, “The workplace harassment by the head of the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center was confirmed as true by investigations from the Gwangju City Human Rights Ombudsman and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but the measures taken were limited to human rights education and a fine of a few million won,” expressing concern, “I am afraid that members of Gwangju City will dismiss workplace harassment as something trivial.”
She also referenced the recently popular Netflix drama, ‘The Glory.’
She said, “School violence and workplace harassment are by no means different,” and added, “I urge Gwangju City to actively take steps to improve the authoritarian public service culture and create a workplace where respect and encouragement prevail.”
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