"Even a Cow's Head Is Smarter Than You"... 33% of Office Workers Experience Workplace Bullying

Workplace Gapjil 119:
"Many Cases of Workplace Bullying Involve Verbal Abuse"

While Lee Hyehoon, the nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is facing allegations of workplace bullying, including abuse of power and verbal abuse during her time as a member of the National Assembly, it has been revealed that 3 out of 10 employees have experienced similar forms of workplace bullying, such as verbal abuse.

On January 5, the civic group Workplace Gapjil 119 announced the results of a survey on "experiences and types of workplace bullying" conducted by the polling agency Global Research. The survey was carried out from December 1 to December 14 of the previous year, targeting 1,000 employees.

According to the survey, 33.0% of employees had experienced workplace bullying. Among them, 15.4% reported experiencing assault, verbal abuse, threats, or "burning out" (taeum), while 17.8% reported suffering from insults, belittlement, or being ignored.

Workplace Gapjil 119 stated, "Just as allegations have been raised that Lee Hyehoon, the nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, engaged in abuse of power and verbal abuse toward an intern during her time as a lawmaker, similar cases frequently occur in ordinary workplaces."

Based on reports received last year, Workplace Gapjil 119 categorized and analyzed five types of verbal abuse allegedly committed by the nominee toward her intern secretary. The main types include: ▲ Threats, such as "Should I kill you? I can hit women too"; ▲ Comparisons and criticism, such as "Even a cow’s head would be smarter than you"; ▲ Insults to ability, such as "Can your brain even understand that?"; ▲ Physical disparagement, such as "Do you talk however you want just because you have a mouth?"; and ▲ Character assassination, such as "Can’t you even speak Korean?"

Workplace Gapjil 119 emphasized, "The greatest and most common pain employees experience at work is, above all, the verbal abuse and harsh language from superiors," adding, "We must eliminate the 'Lee Hyehoon-style verbal violence' that destroys human dignity, and arrogant bosses and those who destroy employees’ character must disappear from the workplace."

Previously, Lee Hyehoon came under fire when a recording was released in which she scolded an intern for failing to report a news article mentioning her name during her tenure as a Bareun Party lawmaker in 2017. According to the recording, she verbally abused the intern, saying things like, "Is your IQ a single digit?" and "I really wish I could kill you."