The chairman of the Gangwon Academy, the educational foundation that operates Gangwon Middle School and Gangwon High School, has been accused of engaging in "gapjil" (abuse of power) by allegedly forcing teachers and staff to run personal errands, such as delivering his lunch, and perform talent shows. Furthermore, the chairman's spouse reportedly summoned employees to their home for hair styling and coerced them into offering gifts.
Following a special labor inspection of the Gangwon Academy, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 13th that it had identified numerous instances of workplace harassment, violations of labor-related laws, and breaches of industrial safety regulations. Consequently, a total of 269 million won (approximately $200,000 USD) in fines has been levied against the foundation.
According to the Ministry, Chairman A allegedly ordered staff members to deliver his lunch and rice cakes to his residence daily. One teacher, who was compelled to sing and perform a talent at Chairman A's 70th birthday celebration, testified, "I had never even done that for my own parents, and it brought me to tears."
Chairman A also purportedly used the school's vehicles for personal errands, such as hospital visits, and assigned other private tasks to employees. Additionally, teachers were allegedly mobilized to remove weeds and mow the lawn on school grounds, and Chairman A is accused of frequently using insulting language and verbal abuse.
The standing director of the academy and Chairman A's spouse, identified as B, allegedly instructed staff members to come to their home for hair styling. B is also accused of demanding customary holiday greetings and gifts, as well as forcing employees to prepare holiday food, and engaging in verbal abuse.
The principals and vice-principals of Gangwon High School reportedly reprimanded teachers for poor fundraising performance targeting students and staff. Teachers were also allegedly mobilized for school renovation work. Similarly, the principals and vice-principals of Gangwon Middle School are accused of ordering teachers to cultivate crops in a school-owned garden.
Fines totaling 22 million won were imposed on six individuals implicated in these acts of workplace harassment.
Beyond workplace harassment, the labor inspection uncovered a total of 27 violations across various labor-related laws, leading to the imposition of 269 million won in fines.
The Gangwon Academy had allegedly been deducting 20,000 won monthly from employees' wages without their consent for use as miscellaneous school expenses. Administrative staff were reportedly subjected to the Local Public Officials Act instead of the Labor Standards Act, resulting in lower payments for various allowances than legally mandated. The total amount of unpaid wages due to this practice was found to be 122 million won.
Furthermore, during the hiring process, the academy allegedly required applicants to disclose their hometowns, a practice prohibited by law. The foundation also failed to return all submitted application documents, violating fair hiring procedures.
A joint inspection extending to industrial safety revealed 11 violations, including the failure to conduct employee health check-ups and the absence of safety and health signs. Fines amounting to 153 million won were levied for these violations.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor intends to pursue legal action regarding the identified legal violations. Additionally, the ministry plans to mandate that the Gangwon Academy develop and submit a comprehensive organizational culture improvement plan. The implementation of this plan will be continuously monitored, and the ministry will collaborate with the Ministry of Education and local education authorities to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
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