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Nearly 30% of bullying victims stay silent out of fear
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By Park Ung
Nearly 3 out of every 10 employees who experienced or witnessed workplace harassment took no action, such as filing a complaint, mainly due to fear of repercussions at work, a recent survey shows.
According to a 2024 Labor Ministry survey submitted this month to Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the main opposition People Power Party, 28.8 percent of 1,000 respondents said they had experienced or witnessed workplace harassment over the past year.
Workers in their 30s reported the highest rate of workplace harassment, at 16.9 percent for men and 24.1 percent for women.
Among job positions, assistant managers topped the list at 21.1 percent, followed by staff-level employees and managers or deputy managers.
When it came to witnessing harassment, assistant managers again ranked first at 36.1 percent, followed by managers or deputy managers and staff-level employees.
Overall, 54.5 percent of respondents identified their immediate supervisors, excluding executives, as the main perpetrators, followed by colleagues at 38.2 percent.
The most common response to workplace harassment was consulting with colleagues at 45.5 percent, followed by taking no action at 31.3 percent. Those who chose not to act mainly cited fears of repercussions if the matter became known, as well as doubts that the perpetrators would be properly punished.
Seventeen percent of those who had experienced or witnessed workplace harassment said they resigned as a way to cope.
The Labor Standards Act was amended in 2019 to include a clause prohibiting workplace harassment, but 37.8 percent of respondents said little has changed since the law took effect.
The ambiguity over what constitutes a reasonable scope of work in determining workplace harassment is often seen as one of the main issues, as employers and employees tend to interpret the standard differently, making it difficult for victims to respond proactively to such cases.
Low awareness of government support programs remains another problem. Thirty percent of respondents said they were unaware of available government measures, including workplace harassment prevention and response training offered by the Korea Employment and Labor Education Institute.
Workplace bullying has emerged as a major social issue in Korea since the death by suicide of former MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna in September last year, who left a message saying she had been harassed by colleagues.
Both Korean and foreign residents who experience or witness workplace harassment can call the Ministry of Employment and Labor at 1350, which provides assistance in English and Chinese.