Abusive language, shouting, and reprimands: Rough and cruel--the naked face of a cosmetics company

“I woke up screaming ‘Help!’ on a quiet KTX train on my way to work at dawn, and I swallowed my tears because I felt sorry for myself. I want to escape from the bullying at work. I want to live.”

On the morning of November 7, the Amorepacific union representing general office and sales workers (Amore Union)--a branch of the Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers’ Union (KCTFU) affiliated to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions--held a press conference in front of the Amorepacific building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul and announced, “After Amorepacific received a large number of voluntary resignations at the end of July, some executives and team leaders have openly and persistently harassed employees who refused to resign by attacking their character, degrading, bullying, and discriminating against them and by shouting and using abusive language.” The union demanded a thorough investigation and punishment of the executives and managers who harassed the employees.

Last May, Amorepacific began restructuring its workforce, demoting team leaders and transferring employees in the door-to-door sales division, according to the Amore Union. As a result, in July, 159 employees, nearly half the employees in the division, signed up for voluntary resignation.

The Amore Union argued that the company began to seriously harass employees who refused to resign. According to a recording that the union secured from the harassment victims, A, a team leader who had worked for twenty years in the Busan region was demoted in 2019. After he refused to resign, the company transferred him to distant worksites, such as Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do, practically every year since then.

Ever since A was transferred to the head office in Seoul last October, he has been the target of harassment, forced to listen to abusive language and to shoulder an excessive workload, after being assigned the desk right next to an executive. The executive shouted at him, spoke violently, and reprimanded him in front of the other employees saying things like, “You are the cause of the problem,” “Are you kidding?” and “Don’t expect to be treated the same as others.”

A was present at the press conference Tuesday and said, “I had to work until the early hours after being assigned excessive and difficult tasks that I could not complete no matter how much overtime I worked, and another manager joined in comparing me to a newbie saying things like, ‘Is this all that a former team leader can come up with?’” “I had to receive psychiatric care due to excessive stress,” he said.

According to the recording that the Amore Union released Tuesday, other employees also had to suffer abusive words from their managers, such as “It’s going to be really tough for you now,” “Quit when they’re paying you for thirty months (retirement pay),” and “If it were me, I’d quit right away. You are making me uncomfortable.” B, who was with the company for over thirty years, said at the press conference, “Due to the repeated bullying, my immune system got so weak, I had to be treated with injections and medication. My mind and body were a mess.”

Amorepacific announced, “The company officially received a report of the problem on November 3, and at present, we are thoroughly investigating the facts.” At the same time, the company said, “If the investigation uncovers any violation of company regulations and the code of ethics, we will take strict measures. Amorepacific will listen to the various voices of our members including the union and work to establish a labor-management relationship that fosters mutual growth.”