The current Act defines and bans “workplace harassment” by stating that no employer or employee shall cause physical or mental suffering to other employees or deteriorate the work environment beyond the appropriate scope of work by taking advantage of superiority in rank, relationship, etc., in the workplace.

As seen in a recent incident where a security guard killed himself due to harassment by a resident, however, workplace harassment is also committed by a third party such as customers or clients, which some argue needs to be addressed.

Furthermore, the current Act has no separate punishment provision for workplace harassment perpetrators and any restriction on the employer who does not take action when workplace harassment occurs, which makes it difficult to practically prevent workplace harassment and therefore needs to be improved.

In this regard, this Act aims to define the employer’s obligation to take action if there is any harassment by the third party, specify punishment against the perpetrator and any employer who fails to take action if there is any workplace harassment or harassment by a third party, and mandate preventive training to better protect workers from workplace harassment (Articles 76-2 through 76-5, 114, and 116).

Obligate the employer to take action if there is any harassment by a third party (Article 76-2).