Yangyang County Official Faces First Verdict on Charges of Workplace Bullying, Assault

The court's first ruling on charges that a Yangyang County public official engaged in power abuse and harassment against his subordinates is set for the 15th. The case sheds light on workplace bullying issues within public institutions. The Sokcho Branch of the Chuncheon District Court will hold the sentencing hearing for Mr. A at 2 PM on the 15th, following a prosecution request for a five-year prison term at the conclusion of the trial.

Mr. A, a public official at the county office, has been on trial since July last year for coercing, assaulting, threatening, and insulting three sanitation workers he supervised on 60, 60, 10, and 7 occasions, respectively, through November. According to the indictment, Mr. A intentionally parked the garbage truck far away or drove slowly, forcing the victims to walk or run alongside. He also made statements such as declaring a "state of emergency" due to stock price drops and threatening to "sacrifice and stomp" those who disobeyed him. Mr. A allegedly forced victims to kneel on the floor and made other victims stomp on them, a practice known as 'meongseok-mari' (human pretzel torture). He is also accused of forcing victims to show their red underwear for stock price gains and demanding each person buy 100 shares. The charges include dozens of assaults and insults, such as throwing cigarette butts and firing BB gun pellets.

During the trial, Mr. A admitted to all charges and submitted multiple letters of remorse. In his final statement, he apologized to the victims and pleaded for leniency. The victims attended the final hearing and read out a petition urging severe punishment for Mr. A.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Employment and Labor imposed a fine of 5 million won on Yangyang County for failing to conduct sexual harassment prevention training for its employees.