Workplace gapjil enters new phase with juniors harassing seniors

Workplace harassment remains a problem in companies even after the enactment of a labor law to stop it, with some senior employees now claiming they feel harassment coming from their junior staff. Titled "Prohibition against Workplace...

Staff of the civic organization Gabjil 119 survery on workpace harassment in Seoul on Oct. 14, 2021. [YONHAP]

Workplace harassment remains a problem in companies even after the enactment of a labor law to stop it, with some senior employees now claiming they feel harassment coming from their junior staff.

Titled "Prohibition against Workplace Harassment," Article 76-2 of the Labor Standards Act came into effect in July 2019, prohibiting employers or employees from taking advantage of their superior positions in the workplace to cause physical or mental suffering to staff.

However, this is led to cases of so-called “reverse gapjil,” where employees capitalize on the labor law to “abuse” their seniors. Gapjil means "abuse of power," a much-discussed social problem in Korea.

Common cases reportedly include filing complaints to the company’s HR or audit section; posting accusations against an individual on an anonymous online bulletin; and sending a letter to the overseas headquarters if the company is a foreign affiliate.

Videos teaching viewers how to report workplace harassment are popular on YouTube. Receiving unemployment benefits is easier if workplace harassment is the reason for quitting.

An executive of a bio company recently received a call from the HR department. He was reported for gapjil by a team leader after the senior official told the leader to “step things up.” The team leader claimed he felt “insulted.”

Another manager in a retail company also claimed to have received a warning from the company after telling a staff member to avoid taking the afternoon off frequently without prior notice. Not assigning key tasks to the employee was another reason for the manager’s warning.

HR staff often find themselves embroiled in disputes, too, because “some people file separate workplace harassment complaints against the HR staff for informing them of possible disciplinary action,” said an HR manager.

“There weren’t many reverse gapjil cases in 2021, but we received three times more cases last year,” said Kim Seong-joon, a labor attorney at Labor Law Firm U&.

Workplace harassment remains an issue for workers in Korea, though the problem seems to have abated somewhat.

Of 1,000 workers surveyed by the civic organization Gabjil 119 between March 3 and March 10, 29.1 percent said they experienced workplace harassment last year. That number was 28.9 percent in 2021, 36 percent in 2020 and 44.5 percent in 2019.

But since the labor law only applies to companies with five or more workers, the law does not protect about 4 million workers who work in smaller businesses.

“The older generation needs to show sacrifice, self-correction and courage at unprecedented levels in order to allow the younger generation to settle in as proud individuals,” said Kim Tae-yun, a professor of public administration at Hanyang University.

BY LEE SOO-Ki, KANG KI-HEON AND KIM MIN-SANG [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]