Workplace Bullying Increases Along With South Korean Employees Returning To Work In Offices

As employees return to the office, workplace bullying, a longstanding toxic workplace culture problem in South Korea, has returned, CNN reported on July 4th.

Workplace bullying has become a serious social problem in South Korea
In South Korea, gapjil is the exclusive term for workplace bullying, which refers to abusive behavior towards employees by those in power. Workplace bullying has become a serious social problem in Korea.

Nearly 30 percent of office workers have experienced some form of workplace bullying in the past year, according to an online survey of 1,000 Korean respondents in June, up from 23.5 percent in a similar survey in March.

The latest survey, released on July 3, was commissioned by an anti-workplace bullying organization, which aims to help victims of workplace bullying, and was conducted by the Korean Polling Research Group.

Respondents stated issues such as sexual harassment by superiors and verbal and physical abuse. One employee said they felt threatened when their supervisor cursed at them angrily. Another said she received late-night text messages from her boss containing abusive and sexual language after he went out drinking. Others were excluded from office groups or insulted by their superiors in front of their colleagues.

Some said they were punished by being assigned to a new workplace or kicked out of the company after reporting bullying behavior. However, most respondents chose not to take action and ignored the problem. Many chose to quit their jobs, fearing that reporting bullying behavior would affect their subsequent employment.

Women more likely to be victimized
Women, part-time or casual workers are more likely to be victimized, while supervisors and managers are the most common perpetrators, according to the report.

In addition to the problem of bullying, gender discrimination is still deeply rooted in the Korean workplace, especially during job interviews, where women are often asked about their plans to get married or have children.
Many survey respondents said their mental health deteriorated as a result of bullying, but only a few sought treatment or counseling after experiencing depression, insomnia, lack of motivation and other problems.

2019 Lee Myung-hee, the wife of the president of South Korea's Korean Air, has been accused of physical and verbal abuse of her employees. According to one of the allegations, Lee Myung-hee's former gardener had been attacked seven times over a three-year period, including Lee spitting in this victim's face and throwing metal scissors at him after Lee kicked off a ladder causing the gardener to fall from a height of three meters and sustain injuries.

Lee Myung-hee was given a suspended sentence in 2020, which allows her to avoid prison as long as she does not commit another crime within three years. The sentence was seen as a blow to labor rights activists.

In 2019, South Korea's Workplace Bullying Prohibition Act went into effect, criminalizing behavior that causes mental and physical pain to employees. The law stipulates that acts by employers or employees who take advantage of their authority and seniority to go beyond the scope of their work and cause mental or physical pain to other employees, or cause deterioration of the work environment, are considered bullying. In addition to the office and workplace, similar behavior on social media, at business locations, at gathering places and during private meetings will also be recognized as bullying. Those who violate this rule will be sentenced to up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won, or about 175,000 yuan.

According to the July 3 report, reports of workplace bullying declined after the law was enacted, and even more so during the Shinggwan epidemic, when employees mainly worked from home. But in recent months, as people have slowly returned to the office, reports have grown rapidly again.