Seven out of 10 South Korean workers who reported suffering in their jobs said they had been victims of bullying, violence or other abusive behavior. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Seven out of 10 South Korean workers who reported suffering in their jobs said they had been victims of bullying, violence or other abusive behavior, according to an analysis by a civic group that spotlights workplace injustices.
The Seoul-based organization Gabjil 119 said on April 29 that of the 407 email complaints it received between January and March from people who provided their identities, 284, or nearly 70%, involved allegations of harassment.
Breaking down those 284 cases, 188 complaints (66.2%) cited incidents of ostracism or discrimination, while 113 (39.8%) involved physical violence or verbal abuse. Another 110 cases (38.7%) raised issues of humiliation or defamation.
Employment insecurity, such as unfair dismissals, ranked second among the grievances at 118 cases (29%), followed by wage exploitation at 97 cases (23.8%).
The group said that non-regular workers and those not belonging to labor unions were significantly more likely to suffer job insecurity.
In a survey of 1,000 employees commissioned by Gabjil 119 last December, 20.5% of non-regular workers said they had been fired over the past year, nearly triple the 6.8% rate for their peers on open-ended contracts.
Among non-union members, 13.3% had lost jobs, over twice the 5.5% level for unionized laborers.
“Many non-regular workers and those at small and medium-sized businesses lack union protection, leaving them unable to escape workplace bullying, job insecurity and low wages that routinely afflict the most vulnerable segments of the workforce,” the group said in a statement.
Gabjil 119 did not provide details on the severity or circumstances of specific bullying cases cited in the email complaints.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
