3 in 10 workers in Korea experience workplace harassment, poll shows

Pedestrians walk on a crosswalk in central Seoul on Feb. 13. [YONHAP]

Three out of 10 workers have experienced workplace harassment in the past year, with the number of those considering taking their own lives increasing from the previous year, a survey showed Sunday.

According to the survey conducted on 1,000 office workers, 30.5 percent of respondents said they experienced workplace harassment in the past year, compared to 30.1 percent in a similar poll in the first quarter of last year.

But of those who experienced workplace harassment in this year's survey, 15.6 percent of them considered taking their own lives, up from 10.6 percent in last year's poll, according to the poll commissioned by the pro-labor group Gabjil 119.

Among those who considered taking their own lives in this year's poll, 26 percent of them were in their 30s, compared with 22.4 percent of those in their 20s.

Of those who experienced workplace harassment, 46.6 percent responded that the level of bullying was "serious."

In terms of the type of harassment, the category of insults and defamation was the highest at 17.5 percent, followed by unreasonable orders at 17.3 percent, orders outside of work at 16.5 percent, and violence and verbal abuse at 15.5 percent.

Of those who experienced workplace bullying, 57.7 percent said they responded by enduring or ignoring it, with 47.1 percent of them citing that they did not think the situation would improve if they took action.

Yonhap