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By Yoon Ye-seul
Female job seekers have been sexually harassed during job interviews, according to local news reports.
Victims, however, have not been able to get advice from consultants or report it to police, worrying that this would have a negative effect on their job prospects.
The following shows the harassment undergone during job interviews:
A 25-year-old university student applied for a job at an affiliate of the company initialed D last September. During an “interview in a bar,” she was sexually molested by a human resources director. The director touched her thigh, back and hands. The female student had to endure the moment, because she thought it was part of the interview. Although she wanted to let others know what he did, she gave up, believing that this would not help her get a job. “I really don’t know how to deal with such a situation if it happens again,” said the student.
Another female job seeker had severely suffered from stalking after having an interview of a company affiliated with “L” Business Group. She forgot to take her documents with her after finishing the interview. One of the interviewers called her, and said, “I want to return these documents to you in person. Where do you live? I will go there.” He even called her and asked how she was doing.
A-28-year-old woman had an absurd interview at a small business which was manufacturing cosmetics but has since closed. An interviewer asked her how much alcohol she can drink. She said that she drinks half a bottle of soju, one of the popular spirits in Korea. “That’s great! There have been no female workers who pour drinks because they are easily drunk,” said the interviewer. “He said it seriously, not as a joke. However I had to hide my discomfort because it was an interview,” said the woman, who has been employed recently.
“I even heard that one interviewer said ‘How about kissing me? It is not awkward to kiss each other in our company because of a free atmosphere,’” said Hwang Hyun-sook, head of the Seoul chapter of the Korean Women Workers Association, a labor organization for improving women’s social status. “We tried to present a petition to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but could not, because the victim did not want to do so.” Like this case, many victims just hide their problems, considering themselves a minority in society. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has not received any sexual harassment or violence cases yet, which have been prevalent during job interview.
“Victims have to take action more actively to prevent the recurrence of such sexual harassment during job interviews,” said Hwang. “If you suffer from sexual harassment, you should contact consultants at the 15 regional employment equality offices affiliated with the workers association or file a petition with the Ministry of Employment and Labor or the National Human Rights Commission.”
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