Korail reinstates staffer fired for looking up BTS RM's info

RM (left) and V (right) pose with Jin before enlisting for their mandatory military service on Dec. 11, in front of Nonsan Training Center in South Chungcheong Province. (Yonhap)

A Korea Railroad Corp. employee who was fired for looking up personal information related to BTS' RM has recently been reinstated, a report obtained by a lawmaker showed Friday.

The National Labor Relations Commission last Thursday ordered the state-run railway operator to give back the female staffer's job, along with reimbursement for wages that the staff would have made if she had not been fired in April, according to the Democratic Party of Korea's Rep. Kim Doo-kwan, who got a copy of an NLRC report.

The Korail staffer filed an unfair dismissal claim to the commission over the dispute, which initially ruled against her. But the decision was overturned last week.

"Korail had not fired employees in other cases related to breach of personal information, and it is unfair for just this specific employee to be fired" the commission was quoted as saying.

The commission also pointed out that the mass media coverage, which was cited by Korail as one of the reasons for firing her, was more due to RM's popularity rather than the gravity of her wrongdoing.

It was reported in March that a Korail staffer had looked up RM's booking details and personal information, including his address and mobile phone number, from the system. The employee had looked up his information 18 times since 2019, which she said was done "out of personal curiosity."

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)