Chairman and Spouse Ordered Lunch Delivery and Haircuts for Staff... Fined 269 Million Won

Ministry of Employment and Labor Reveals Details of Special Labor Inspection
Thirty Victims of Workplace Harassment Identified

The Kangwon Academy, a school foundation suspected of 'workplace harassment' for forcing many faculty members to deliver lunch to the chairman's residence and to participate in talent shows, was fined 269 million won in administrative penalties.

On the 13th, Yonhap News reported that the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the results of a special labor inspection conducted on the Kangwon Academy (the school foundation operating Kangwon Middle and High Schools). As a result of this inspection, the Ministry confirmed a total of 27 violations related to workplace harassment and labor laws and filed criminal charges. Subsequently, the Ministry imposed a total fine of 269 million won on the Kangwon Academy and the former chairman.

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According to the Ministry, the former chairman of the academy, who resigned last month, and his spouse, the former executive director, used their superior positions to lead workplace harassment against 30 faculty members. Key cases include the former chairman making faculty members deliver lunch to his residence daily. He also made them drive him for personal errands such as hospital visits. Additionally, teachers were forced to remove weeds or mow the lawn on campus and were subjected to insulting remarks and verbal abuse. Some teachers were reportedly forced to sing or perform talent shows at the former chairman’s 70th birthday celebration. The former executive director summoned faculty members to their home for hair styling, forced them to give holiday greetings, offer gifts, and prepare holiday food, while also verbally abusing them.

Besides the couple, the principals and vice principals of Kangwon Middle and High Schools were also found to have committed harassment. They mobilized teachers for school repair work and instructed them to cultivate crops or remove weeds in the school garden. The Ministry imposed a total fine of 22 million won on the former chairman couple and all six principals and vice principals.

Furthermore, Kangwon Academy deducted 20,000 won monthly from employees’ wages without their consent to cover miscellaneous school expenses. The academy also applied the Local Public Officials Act instead of the Labor Standards Act to administrative staff, paying various allowances less than the legal standards, resulting in a total wage arrears of 122 million won. They failed to prepare or provide employment contracts and wage statements. It was also revealed that the academy violated fair hiring procedures by requiring applicants to state their region of origin, which is prohibited by law. In the field of industrial safety, 11 violations were found, including failure to conduct health checkups for workers.

The Ministry plans to monitor the implementation of organizational culture improvement plans submitted by the academy while taking judicial and administrative penalty actions for the confirmed legal violations. In addition, it will collaborate with the Ministry of Education and local education offices to guide measures to prevent recurrence of similar cases in the future.

Meanwhile, upon the Ministry’s initiation of the special labor inspection, Kangwon Academy held a board meeting last month and resolved the resignation of the chairman and executive director.