"CEO's 'This is Why We Don't Hire Women' Backtalk"
Disclosure of Unfair Treatment Cases and Punishment Rates
It has been revealed that only 2.8% of cases reporting workplace disadvantages due to maternity leave and parental leave result in penalties such as fines.
On the 1st, Workplace Bullying 119 introduced the grievances of workers who suffered unfair treatment due to parental leave and other reasons. One worker, Mr. A, said, "When I told the CEO that I would take parental leave, the CEO gossiped with employees saying things like, 'Did you hide your pregnancy plans when you joined?', 'You should have said you were quitting to get unemployment benefits,' 'This is why the company doesn’t hire women,' and 'If you prevent parental leave, the fine isn’t much, so just pay it.'" Another worker, Mr. B, revealed, "After returning from parental leave, I was forced to resign if I did not sign a labor contract that was significantly different from the original one."
According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) obtained by Workplace Bullying 119 through Assemblyman Jang Cheol-min of the Democratic Party, from January 1 to June 20 this year, there were 287 reports of violations related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare submitted to the MoEL. However, only 25 cases (8.9%) were recognized as violations of the law. Among these, only 8 cases (2.8%, 7 prosecutions and 1 fine) resulted in prosecution or fines. The remaining 17 cases were resolved by instructing workplaces to correct the issues. The other 81.2% (226 cases) were closed for reasons such as 'two absences,' 'no intention to report,' 'no violation,' 'withdrawal,' or 'dismissal.'
Even when expanding the scope to 2020, the number of punishment cases remains significantly low. From January 1, 2020, to June 20, 2024, there were 2,301 reports of violations related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare submitted to the MoEL, with only 129 cases (5.6%) resulting in prosecution or fines.
Workplace Bullying 119 criticized, "Regardless of the government or political parties, various measures are being proposed to address low birth rates, but the Ministry of Employment and Labor appears to neglect discrimination and unfavorable treatment faced by workers using maternal and parental protection systems in the workplace by imposing light penalties." Kim Se-ok, an activist at Workplace Bullying 119, pointed out, "The government should more actively require employers to bear the burden of proof and actively conduct special labor inspections on workplaces with repeated reports."
Meanwhile, Article 74 of the Labor Standards Act contains provisions regarding leave before and after childbirth (including miscarriage and stillbirth) and protection during pregnancy and childbirth. According to this article, violations such as ▲failure to grant leave before and after childbirth ▲refusal to allow split use of leave before and after childbirth ▲failure to grant leave for miscarriage or stillbirth ▲non-payment of wages during leave before and after childbirth ▲forcing overtime work during pregnancy or refusal to transfer to easier work types can result in imprisonment of up to 2 years or fines up to 20 million KRW. Additionally, refusal to allow return to work after leave before and after childbirth can result in fines up to 5 million KRW, and refusal to allow reduced working hours during pregnancy or refusal to change start and end times of work during pregnancy can result in fines up to 5 million KRW.
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