The court decided to uphold the fines imposed on former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin over workplace bullying allegations.
According to the legal community on Jan. 17, Jeong Cheol-min, a single-judge civil court judge of the Seoul Western District Court (Civil Division 61), handed down a "fines granted" decision the previous day in a summary trial that Min filed against the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office.
This means the preliminary notice of fines that Min received from the Seoul employment office in March over the workplace bullying allegations will stand.
Previously, former ADOR employee A filed a criminal complaint against Min on charges including defamation and violations of the Personal Information Protection Act and brought a damages suit. A also claimed to have suffered bullying and sexual harassment from ADOR executive B, and alleged that Min concealed it and insulted A.
Min explained that this was not true, but the Seoul Western District Office of the Labor Ministry recognized that Min committed workplace bullying and, as an employer, failed to conduct an objective investigation into the bullying, and imposed fines. The amount was not disclosed.
Under current law, if an employer commits workplace bullying, fines of up to 10 million won are imposed, and if the obligation to conduct an "objective investigation without delay" is violated, fines of up to 5 million won are imposed.
However, this decision does not finalize Min's fines. If Min's side objects, they may request a formal trial within seven days, in which case the summary judgment will be nullified.