President Lee Jae-myung on the 10th addressed allegations that Swedish furniture corporations Ikea (IKEA) demoted an employee who returned from parental leave and pressed for a voluntary resignation, saying, "We will conduct a thorough investigation, and if it is found to be true, we will take stern action in line with international standards."
After attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and while on a state visit to Mongolia, President Lee that morning shared on X (formerly Twitter) a news report that the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) had launched an investigation into the Ikea allegations, and wrote, "Just as our corporations must not display anti-labor, nonsensical behavior abroad, foreign corporations must not do so in Korea."
President Lee said, "There were times when corporations that were exemplary global players in other countries drew criticism for being uniquely anti-labor and opaque only in Korea," adding, "It is a story from a time when Korea's government pursued anti-labor policies and was tainted by corruption, but now that the Republic of Korea is being reborn as a model society and a model government leading the world, such outdated management practices, if they occur, cannot be tolerated."
◇Ikea: "We take this seriously… we will fully cooperate with the investigation"
In this regard, Ikea Korea issued an official statement in the afternoon, saying, "We take very seriously the concerns raised in connection with recent reports," and, "We will faithfully provide the necessary materials and explanations so that objective facts can be verified during the authorities' investigation process."
However, it added, "We are concerned that unverified claims are being repeatedly reported as fact, causing unnecessary misunderstandings and harm to coworkers and the company," and, "We respect relevant laws and regulations of the Republic of Korea, and we ensure that all coworkers can safely use legally guaranteed rights such as pregnancy, childbirth, and parental leave."
It also said that over the past year, 118 out of about 2,000 executives and staff took parental leave, and 110 of them, or 93%, have returned and are working as normal.