Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Calls growing to punish 'abusive' FCA Korea CEO
Pablo Rosso, CEO of FCA Korea has been suspended while harassment allegations against him are investigated, July 24. / Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Pablo Rosso, head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Korea, has been suspended from duty for allegedly physically and verbally abusing employees, according to the company Tuesday. He has also been accused of sexually harassing female workers.
The company's headquarters announced his suspension on July 24 after a petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website two days earlier, accusing Rosso of engaging in abusive behavior toward staff. The petition had been deleted shortly after but was reposted on Monday with names of the firm and CEO hidden.
The petitioner described Rosso's alleged physical and verbal abuse.
“He urges male employees to say which female employee they like the most, and he repeatedly states with whom he wants sexual relations among the female staff members. He constantly enacts physical abuse by slapping employees in the face and hitting their heads. We are also suffering from verbal abuse and insults,” the petition read.
“We have already reported the situation several times to the human resources department, the Asia regional office and the headquarters, but none of them have responded. Please conduct an investigation into this issue and help our local staff.”
A public petition was posted on Monday accusing Pablo Rosso of abusive behavior. / Screen capture from Cheong Wa Dae's official website.
After the petition gained significant public attention, FCA announced the temporary suspension of Pablo Rosso and started an investigation into his alleged misconduct. The investigation will be conducted internally as no complaints were filed with the police.
FCA APAC, the firm's Asia-Pacific regional office, told The Korea Times, “FCA does not tolerate any form of harassment, abuse or discrimination of our employees or business partners. It is the company's policy to both immediately and thoroughly investigate any concern brought to our attention.”
FCA is an Italian-American automaker based in Amsterdam and London. The multinational automaker was established by merging Fiat and Chrysler in October 2014.
Pablo Rosso was appointed as the managing director of FCA Korea in December 2012. He previously served as the head of an Indian affiliate in 2011.
As his wide experience in the car industry was acknowledged, Rosso was appointed as the first foreign president of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) in April this year.