This behavior is comprised of verbal abuse, intimidation, humiliation, sabotage of work and exclusion from work-related activities. It negatively affects the victim’s mental and physical health, leading to stress, anxiety, depression, and low productivity at work, creating a toxic work environment and lowering overall morale.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, in Korea over the past five years, nearly 40,000 cases of bullying, verbal abuse and other forms of workplace harassment have been reported. Despite that, only less than 5 percent of the cases led to charges, penalties or corrective guidance, which spurred the government to work on improving the effectiveness of the system.
As of the end of May, this year, 39,316 bullying instances have been reported since the revised Labor Standards Act went into effect on July 16, 2019, making bullying at work punishable.
The first half of the year has seen 3,668 cases of bullying. With each passing year, the number of reports has been rising steadily. There have been 2,130 cases reported in 2019, 5,823 in 2020, 7,774 in 2021, 8,961 in 2022, and 1,960 in 2023.
38,732 of these cases have already undergone processing. This includes 709 cases that were sent to the prosecution for additional investigation, 4,005 cases where corrective guidance was provided and 501 cases that resulted in penalties. 302 of the offenders in the 709 cases were sent to the prosecution.
The victims withdrew their reports in 11,998 cases, while the police or ministry found no evidence of legal violations in 11,301 cases. Workplace bullying offenders risk a fine of up to 30 million won ($21,800) or three years in prison.
The fact that just 4.3% of incidents that were reported last year led to penalties or referrals to the prosecution shows the need for change and enhancement in the efficacy of the system.
In response, the government is working to make the system better. in continuation of this, the first step is to define what constitutes bullying. The ministry stated that “persistence or repetition” is needed to identify bullying in the majority of nations, including France, Norway, and Australia.
“We intend to improve systems and regulations by gathering opinions from experts and across the field, as there are differing opinions on this matter,” the ministry stated.
Organizations should have clear anti-bullying policies, provide training, and establish reporting mechanisms to address and prevent such behavior effectively.
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Infor Credits: www.koreatimes.co.kr