Rally Held in Naver Headquarters Lobby
Union Opposes Choi Inhyuk's Return, Citing Workplace Harassment Responsibility
Management Urged to Clarify Position on Choi Inhyuk's Reinstatement
In a general vote conducted by the Naver labor union, 98.82% of union members expressed opposition to the return of former Chief Operating Officer (COO) Choi Inhyuk.
The Naver Union (Naver Chapter of the Korean Federation of Chemical, Textile, and Food Workers' Unions, Joint Statement) announced the results of the general vote regarding the return of former COO Choi at a rally held on May 27 at the Naver 1784 headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Approximately 100 union members attended the rally.
The union, which opposes the return of former COO Choi, conducted the vote among all 5,701 union members from May 22 to May 26. A total of 4,507 members participated in the vote, resulting in a turnout rate of 79.06%. Of these, 4,454 members (98.82%) responded that they were against the return of former COO Choi.
Previously, on May 15, Naver established a new "Tech Business" division directly under the CEO and appointed former COO Choi as the head of the division. Former COO Choi returned to Naver as the head of the Tech Business division starting May 19. The Tech Business division is responsible for exploring new business opportunities in emerging markets such as India and Spain, as well as overseeing the healthcare sector.
In 2021, while serving as both Naver COO and CEO of Naver Financial, former COO Choi stepped down, taking moral responsibility as a member of management after an employee took their own life due to workplace harassment at Naver. The union claims that former COO Choi was the person who hired executive A, who was identified as the perpetrator, and that he held C-level and internal director positions, which carried supervisory responsibilities over executives.
The union has demanded an explanation from management regarding its support for the return of former COO Choi. According to the union, Naver supported his return by organizing a briefing in March to allow former COO Choi, who was not a company member at the time, to explain his position. The union also called on management to clarify its stance on former COO Choi's responsibility in the workplace harassment case.
The union has stated that if Naver management does not respond by May 30, it will continue its rallies on June 11. The union emphasized, "At a time when the voices of organization members are being thoroughly ignored, we can no longer back down," adding, "This issue goes beyond the return of a specific individual and fundamentally questions healthy organizational culture and management accountability."
Oh Seyoon, head of the Joint Statement chapter, said, "We are expressing our protest and demanding an explanation from the company for taking such active steps to facilitate the return of an individual who was not even a company member at the time," adding, "Former COO Choi bears substantial and direct responsibility for the workplace harassment incident."
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