South Korea workplace harassment victims seek right to know

South Korean workplace harassment survivor Baek Song-yi is campaigning for victims to have a clear legal right to know how confirmed harassers are disciplined.

Baek, 40, told AFP she reported verbal harassment by an older male boss at her former company, a US firm with overseas offices. She said the company asked her to accept a confidentiality agreement warning she could be fired for disclosing information discussed during the process.

Baek refused to sign the agreement, and the company investigation later upheld her complaint, she said. But she said the company declined to disclose what disciplinary action had been taken, citing privacy law in South Korea. An investigator told her only that the harasser would be “monitored”.

Baek has since left the company. She said she never learned whether her request to bar the man from the firm's South Korean office had been granted.

South Korea introduced a workplace anti-bullying law seven years ago, but critics say it does not guarantee enough protection for victims. A study last year by workplace abuse support group Gapjil 119 found that 15.3 percent of victims reported harassment. Nearly half of respondents said they believed action would change nothing, and about one-third feared career repercussions.

Labour attorney Kim Yu-kyung told AFP that employers have full discretion over whether to disclose disciplinary action because there is no legal provision requiring them to inform victims.

Another woman, identified only by her surname Yoo, told AFP she spent about 10 months pursuing a complaint. She said her former employer told her action had been taken under company rules but cited privacy concerns and did not initially disclose the outcome.

The labour ministry later allowed Yoo to inspect the company rules in person, without taking photos or notes. Yoo said she found the rules contained no provisions on workplace harassment and was later told her harasser had only been asked to submit a written account of what happened.

The labour ministry told AFP it revised workplace harassment guidelines in July, recommending that employers share investigation outcomes and the basis for their conclusions with victims. It said making disclosure mandatory would require careful consideration of privacy and individual rights.

Baek said she contacted several South Korean lawmakers to propose restrictions on confidentiality agreements and a requirement that employers disclose disciplinary measures to victims, but none responded.