Workplace harassment survivors in South Korea face a significant transparency barrier, often left in the dark about disciplinary outcomes due to strict privacy interpretations and a lack of clear legal mandates requiring employers to share investigation results, according to reports from AFP and The Korea Times.
The Transparency Blind Spot Facing South Korean Survivors
Confidentiality Demands and Closed-Door Penalties
When Baek Song-yi, a 40-year-old advocate, reported her boss for verbal harassment at a U.S. firm with offices overseas, the company pressured her to sign a confidentiality agreement under threat of termination for discussing the process, according to AFP. Baek refused the NDA. Although the internal investigation upheld her complaint, the company declined to disclose the specific disciplinary action taken, citing South Korean privacy protection laws. An investigator told Baek only that the harasser would be “monitored,” leaving her without closure or confirmation of whether her request to bar him from the Korean office was granted.
A Seven-Year-Old Anti-Bullying Law Falls Short
South Korea enacted a workplace anti-bullying law seven years ago, but labour advocates and support groups argue the legislation falls short of guaranteeing adequate protections or transparency. According to a study by the workplace abuse support group Gapjil 119, only 15.3 percent of harassment victims reported incidents. Nearly half of respondents cited a belief that reporting would change nothing, while about one-third feared career repercussions.
Full Employer Discretion Shields Perpetrators
Labour attorney Kim Yu-kyung told AFP that employers hold full discretion over whether to disclose disciplinary actions because the current legal framework lacks provisions requiring them to inform victims. While the law mandates that employers take action against confirmed harassers, it stops short of guaranteeing the victim’s right to know the outcome, effectively shielding perpetrators and their reputations.
Ten Months of Insomnia, Panic Attacks, and Red Tape
In another case documented by AFP, a woman identified by her surname Yoo spent approximately 10 months pursuing a harassment complaint against a Korean firm. Her former employer cited privacy concerns, stating only that action had been taken in accordance with company rules. After the labor ministry intervened to allow an in-person inspection of company rules without permitting photos or notes, Yoo discovered the rules contained no provisions regarding workplace harassment. She was later informed that her harasser had merely been asked to submit a written account of the incident. Yoo, who ultimately quit and waited until leaving to report the harassment out of fear of retaliation, reported suffering from insomnia and panic attacks.
Battling for Legal Reform After the Fact
When Baek turned to Seoul’s regional labour office for information regarding her case’s resolution, a labour official stated in a recorded call reviewed by AFP that the company had complied with the law. The official noted that no legal provision requires the disclosure of disciplinary measures received by perpetrators, explaining that the company was only required to ask Baek what measures she wanted before deciding on an action.
Baek has since left the company and is campaigning for legislation modeled after California’s Silenced No More Act, which restricts non-disclosure agreements in workplace harassment cases, alongside a clear legal right for victims to be informed of disciplinary measures.
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