Business owner indicted over abusing employee before suicide

Home > National > Social Affairs

Business owner indicted over abusing employee before suicide

Published: 10 Jan. 2026, 17:19 Updated: 11 Jan. 2026, 12:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

[KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A man who allegedly drove his employee to commit suicide last year by assaulting and psychologically manipulating him over the course of a decade has been indicted while in custody.

The Mokpo branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office announced on Friday that it had formally arrested and indicted the man, the owner of a mobile phone dealership, on charges including habitual injury, violation of the Labor Standards Act and coercion.

The man is accused of repeatedly assaulting a subordinate employee, on 12 occasions between 2016 and December 2024, and of forcing him to perform errands unrelated to work, such as picking up prescription medication on his behalf and delivering food.

Investigators believe that the abuse began in 2016, when the employee made a mistake that cost the dealership financially. His boss allegedly used the incident as a pretext to demand various forms of compensation from the employee and to abuse him both verbally and physically.

According to investigators, whenever the boss was dissatisfied with the employee’s work, he would frequently subject him to verbal abuse and physical violence.

The boss repeatedly told the employee that he had to make up for the dealership’s losses, even forcing him to sign a pledge relinquishing control over his own body.

Such pledges, which are sometimes demanded by loan sharks in Korea, actually have no legal effect.

After suffering prolonged harassment, the employee took his own life in October of last year.

Prosecutors concluded that the employee lost his will to live as a result of the torment he suffered at the hands of his boss.

After the employee committed suicide, the dealership owner attempted to conceal the existence of the pledge, but it was uncovered through document analysis conducted by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

An official told media that the prosecution “will do its utmost to prosecute [the boss] so that he receives a sentence commensurate with his crimes.”

If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191 or the Crisis Counseling Center at 1577-0199. The Seoul Global Center offers English-language counseling, contact 02-2075-4180 (+1) to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]