LG H&H suspends youngest executive for bullying

LG Household & Health Care's corporate image / Courtesy of LG Household & Health Care

By Kim Jae-heun

LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) suspended its youngest executive, surnamed Shim, Monday after she was accused of bullying junior staff members on her team.

“The company's internal investigation is ongoing … the company decided she cannot work effectively under these circumstances,” an LG H&H official said.

Shim, 36, who became the youngest managing director of the Personal Care Business Team in 2019, has allegedly harassed her coworkers frequently over the past two years.

The accusation was made anonymously last month on Blind, an employees' community application, and alleged that Shim often insulted her subordinates and cursed at them.

“She often made a fool of junior staff members in front of the team using words like 'idiot,' 'stupid' and 'moron.' Shim also scolded a worker once for visiting a health care center to get a COVID-19 test during office hours,” a whistleblower wrote.

According to the whistleblower, who is thought to have worked under Shim, nearly half of the workers in the marketing department left because of her.

A more recent comment made on the subject said that there was another executive director above Shim who was involved in the office harassment at LG H&H.

“All kinds of people share their thoughts on Blind and we cannot view them all as facts,” an H&H official added.

Shim has received the spotlight within the company for her contribution in bringing the product “On the Body” to first place in the local market.

She was also behind the popular “Himalaya Pink Salt Toothpaste” that saw her promoted to managing director.

Shim graduated from the Yonsei University Business School and joined LG H&H as an intern. She was selected for the overseas study program supported by the company to acquire a master's degree at the business school in UC Berkeley.

After three years of maternity leave, Shim returned to the office and became team leader in just 10 months based on her unprecedented achievements. She became a symbol of young talent and women's power within and beyond the company.

Another executive director, who is accused along with Shim, is said to be 14 years older than her.

The other director's name has yet to be revealed but is known to staff for his strictness in the office.