Online Harassment Surges as Office Misconduct Dips: Gender Ministry Survey Reveals Evolving Nature of Workplace Abuse (Image supported by ChatGPT)
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — While the overall incidence of sexual harassment in South Korean workplaces has declined slightly, a new government report reveals a troubling surge in online abuse—a shift attributed to the rise in remote and hybrid work settings.
According to a triennial survey released Monday by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 4.3 percent of workers reported experiencing sexual harassment at least once in the past three years. This marks a slight decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the 2021 survey and a notable drop from 8.1 percent recorded in 2018.
Yet beneath the surface of that apparent progress lies a significant transformation in where and how harassment occurs. Online harassment—through group chats, social media platforms, and messaging apps—jumped to 7.8 percent last year, up sharply from 4.7 percent in 2021. The ministry linked this spike to increased digital communication as companies adopt remote or hybrid work models.
“Exposure to online workspaces has opened new avenues for abuse,” the ministry noted in its analysis.
The study, which surveyed over 16,000 employees across 857 public institutions and 1,828 private firms, showed a diverging trend between sectors. Reports of sexual harassment in private companies declined from 4.3 percent to 2.9 percent. However, public institutions saw a dramatic increase—from 7.4 percent to 11.1 percent—reflecting a return to office settings after pandemic-era restrictions.
In 2021, social distancing measures had dramatically reduced in-person work and company gatherings, leading to a temporary drop in reported incidents. But as organizations pushed for a return to physical workspaces last year, the numbers climbed again—especially within the public sector.
By gender, female workers continued to report higher rates of harassment: 6.1 percent compared to 3 percent among male employees. Nearly half of all incidents—46.8 percent—occurred inside office settings, while 28.6 percent took place during company dinners or after-hours gatherings, long viewed as hotbeds for misconduct.
Among 15 categorized behaviors, the most prevalent included sexually charged comments or evaluations of appearance (3.2 percent), followed by inappropriate jokes (1.5 percent), and coercive behavior during social functions, such as pressuring someone to pour drinks or sit beside a colleague (0.8 percent).
Efforts to address harassment appear to be gaining traction. A parallel survey of 2,685 workplace counselors—those tasked with handling such cases—showed that 78.5 percent had submitted recurrence prevention measures to the ministry, up from 76.3 percent in 2021. The figure was even higher at public institutions, where 84.9 percent of respondents had done so—a staggering 47.1 percentage point jump since the last report.
A spokesperson for the gender ministry emphasized the importance of proactive policy: “We will strengthen efforts to protect victims and foster workplace environments that prevent harassment and ensure prompt response when cases arise.”
The survey, mandated under the Framework Act on Gender Equality, is conducted every three years through a combination of online and offline methods. As South Korea navigates a transformed working culture, the ministry’s findings underscore a crucial reality: the challenge of workplace harassment is evolving, not disappearing.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
