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“I was hired as part of the sales team. The manager always cursed us out in front of other people about how monthly sales were lagging, telling us to pull our act together. Sometimes he slapped us in the face or choked us.” (November 2023, email report submitted to Gabjil 119’s hotline for workplace abuse)

Gabjil 119, an activist group that battles workplace abuse, received 1,121 verified email reports of workplace abuse from January to November 2023. Among them, 65 contained accounts of physical violence. A criminal offense in itself, physical assault carries an even heavier penalty for perpetrators when carried out at the workplace. Despite this, workplace assaults continue to be reported.

Reports verified by Gabjil 119 indicate that workplace violence occurs in all forms in places like meeting rooms, offices, and company gatherings. A report from June 2023 submitted to the organization states, “I work at a branch of a financial firm. After a company dinner, I was accompanying our department director on his way home. Something must have angered him, because he suddenly started hitting me repeatedly with his umbrella. He even threw it at me.”

A January 2023 report from a worker at a restaurant reads, “The owner started going off on me about something he never even told me about. He kicked my shins and hit me in the head with his phone until I bled. He’s even cracked one of my ribs before.”

Reports contain all sorts of violent behavior. One boss held a lit cigarette up to the eye of an underling and threatened to burn it out. Another threw pliers and scissors down at an employee from a ladder.

Workplace abuse and violence aren’t limited to a specific type of job. Gabjil 119 conducted a survey of 1,000 professionals over the age of 19 on workplace abuse and violence. According to the survey, 153 (15.3%) experienced workplace assault, verbal or physical. Office workers comprised 14.8% of them, while manufacturing workers comprised 17.2%, and those in the service sector comprised 15.2%. The survey also indicated that many victims felt incapable of reporting the abuse or violence.

“I was the victim [of violence], but I didn’t report it because I was afraid of being fired or other consequences,” reported one victim.

Aside from physical violence such as beatings or grabbing someone by the shirt, indirect violence that doesn’t contain physical contact — such as throwing something at someone, intentionally blowing cigarette smoke into their face, or spitting at or on someone — also constitutes violations of both criminal and labor laws.

South Korea’s Criminal Act dictates that an individual who commits physical violence against another person can be sentenced to up to two years in prison and to a fine of up to 5 million won (US$3,790). The Labor Standards Act prohibits physical violence against a worker, no matter the circumstances, and levies much heavier penalties than the penal code, as it sentences the perpetrator of workplace violence to up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won (US$37,900).

“Workplace violence is unacceptable, no matter the form or circumstances. It’s not just bullying, it’s a crime,” Kim Ha-na, an attorney who works with Gabjil 119.

“We continue to receive reports of workplace violence, which means that we’re still living in a hush-hush work culture that tolerates or covers up abuse, or punishes anybody who reports such abuse through retributive company practices,” Kim added.

By Jang Hyeon-eun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]