Co-worker of Sri Lankan laborer tied to forklift hit with assault, harassment charges

A worker accused of tying up a Sri Lankan colleague and lifting him with a forklift has been booked for assault and workplace harassment as explicitly prohibited under the Labor Standards Act.

A Sri Lankan worker is tied to bricks and moved by a forklift at a brick factory in Naju, South Jeolla, in February. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A worker accused of tying up a Sri Lankan colleague and lifting him with a forklift has been booked for violating Korea’s Labor Standards Act.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Sunday released the results of its labor inspection into an incident at a brick manufacturing plant in Naju, South Jeolla, involving the abuse of a foreign worker.

In February, the Sri Lankan worker was tied to a pile of bricks and lifted with a forklift by a co-worker at the plant.

The ministry determined that the co-worker’s actions — restraining the victim and using physical force — constituted both “assault” and “workplace harassment” as explicitly prohibited under the Labor Standards Act. The co-worker was booked on charges of violating the act and fined 3 million won ($2,200) for the harassment.

The ministry said it also investigated allegations from migrant worker groups that the Sri Lankan worker had been subjected to group harassment, but found only this co-worker’s actions substantiated. The co-worker has also been booked on separate charges of unlawful confinement and aggravated assault in connection with the incident.

The inspection further revealed that the company failed to pay a total of 29 million won in wages and severance to 21 current and former employees, including eight foreign nationals. This included 250,000 won owed to the Sri Lankan worker.

Officials also uncovered 12 other labor violations, including excessive working hours and failure to provide written terms of employment, and ordered the company to correct them. If the violations are not resolved within the given deadline, the owner will face prosecution.

Under the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers, the company will also be barred from hiring new foreign employees for up to three years.

“It is common sense under the new government that labor rights must not be applied differently because of differences in language or skin color,” said Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon. “We will hold regular 'Foreign Worker Rights Reporting and Consultation Days' with labor inspectors to better hear and address the concerns of migrant workers in the workplace.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]