“Sexual harassment at work” refers to a situation where an employer, a senior, or an employee sexually humiliates or offends another employee with sexually charged behavior or language using status at work or in relation to work, or gives disadvantages in employment on account of a failure respond positively to sexual advances or other sexual requests.
Sexual harassment can occur anywhere within or outside the company premises. If a superior takes advantage of his/her position, it counts as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can also occur inside a vehicle during a business trip, or during a collective dinner, etc.

Ⅰ. Concept


Act on Equal Employment and Work-Family Reconciliation Article 2 (Definition)
(2) “Sexual harassment at work” in this Act refers to a situation where an employer, a senior, or an employee makes another employee feel sexually humiliated or offended by using sexually charged behavior or language using their high status at work or in relation to work, or provides a disadvantage in employment on account of a rejection of a sexual gesture or other requests.


1. Using their high status at work or in relation to work

1) This applies to an employer or employee using their status at work or in connection to work, whether the situation takes place inside the workplace or in a public area.
2) Although it occurs outside working hours and outside the workplace, it is sexual harassment if it is connected to work performance.
3) The concept of workplace includes a customer’s office, dinner with a business partner, business partner’s or customer’s house, etc., if there is a connection to work.
4) Although there is no connection in regards to rank in the workplace, there is a connection with the counterpart of a customer company that the employee has to contact in connection with work.

2. Environmental and conditional sexual harassment

(1) Environmental sexual harassment
Environmental sexual harassment is where an employer, a senior, or an employee sexually humiliates or offends another employee with sexually charged behavior or language using a higher status at work or in connection to work, or creates a disadvantage in their employment.

(2) Conditional sexual harassment
Conditional sexual harassment is where an employer, a senior, or an employee disadvantages another employee by using their higher status at work or in connection to work on account of rejection to sexual advances or demands.

Ⅱ. Types of Sexual Harassment and Criteria for Determining its Occurrence

1. Types of sexual harassment

(1) Physical behaviors
① Physical contact like kissing, hugging from in front or behind
② Touching the body, like the breast, backside, etc.
③ Behaviors such as forcing a massage or caressing

(2) Verbal behaviors
① Sying a filthy joke or speaking lustful and indecent words, including in telephone conversations
② Likening appearance to sexual things
③ Asking about sexual relationships or facts, or intentionally distributing information of a sexual nature
④ Forcing or requesting sexual relations
⑤ Forcing a woman to sit close and fill glasses at a dinner meeting, etc.

(3) Visual behaviors
① Putting up or displaying lustful photos, pictures, drawings, etc., including distribution by email or fax
② Intentionally exposing or touching one’s own physical parts in a sexual manner

(4) Other language or behavior which makes other workers feel sexually humiliated or offended as a socially accepted notion.

2. Criteria for determining whether an action amounts to sexual harassment

(1) Concept

In evaluating sexual harassment, the victim’s subjective conditions must be considered. As a socially accepted idea, how a reasonable person evaluates or copes with a situation against the particular controversial behaviors involved must also be considered in the victim’s case. Accordingly, you should review whether the situation created a threatening and hostile employment environment as a result and hindered work efficiency.

(2) Concrete details in evaluating what amounts to sexual harassment

1) Undesired behaviors
Whether a certain behavior is considered sexual harassment shall be determined for each case after totally considering all situations and a record of the characteristics of the sexual language or behavior involved and the incident-occurring background. Of course, it is not sexual harassment when two parties want or agree to have a sexual relationship.
However, it is sexual harassment when one party does not want such behavior. An undesired act shall not require repeating or recurring. A one-time sexual act can be regarded as sexual harassment.

2) Victim’s perspective
Evaluating whether sexual harassment has occurred at work is to determine if the situation made the victim feel sexually humiliated or offended. In this case, whether or not the offender intended to sexually harass does not matter. That is, the criteria for determining whether sexual harassment has occurred at work is important, and how the victim was affected by the sexual language or behavior.

3) No clear expression of intention required
Recognition of sexual harassment does not require that the alleged victim prove that the alleged offender intended to sexually harass. The undesired behavior in practice shall be estimated objectively in consideration of the victim’s language and behavior or surrounding circumstances.

4) Whole circumstances considered during the incident
Whether sexual harassment was or was not committed shall be reviewed by considering totally the recorded events and all surrounding circumstances. All facts and circumstances related to the work environment where the sexual harassment occurred shall be organized and recorded totally and synthetically. Also, a review of the records shall be implemented from all points of view and considering all circumstances.

(3) Judicial ruling

Sexual language and behaviors equating to ‘workplace sexual harassment’ in accordance with Article 2(2) of the Equal Employment Act refer to physical relations between a man and a woman or physical, linguistic and visual behaviors in relation to the male or female physical appearance. These behaviors mean that a normal and average person would feel sexually humiliated or offended if that person were in the victim employee’s situation in view of the social community’s healthy common sense and socially accepted notions. The condition in which these behaviors are considered sexual harassment does not require intention from the offender, but shall consider the relation with the victim employee, place and situation where such behaviors happened, the counterpart’s explicit and presumptive reactions and details of such behaviors, characteristics and degree of the behavior, whether such behavior was one time only or repeated, and other concrete situations. So, such behaviors should be ones during which a normal and average person in the same situation would also feel sexually humiliated or offended in an objective sense. In such cases, these behaviors should be admitted as sexual harassment that resulted in the counterparty feeling sexually humiliated and offended.

Ⅲ. Employer’s Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment

1. Prohibition against sexual harassment at work

Employers, senior workers, or workers shall not engage in sexual harassment at work(Article 12).
※ Article 39 (Fine for Negligence) ① An employer who commits an action in violation of Article 12 shall be punished by a fine for negligence of ten million won or less.

2. Education to prevent sexual harassment at work

An employer shall implement an educational program one or more times per year to prevent sexual harassment at work and create a safe work environment for workers. Employers and employees shall be required to take education to prevent sexual harassment(Article 13 ①, ②).
The preventive program shall include the following items: ① Laws concerning sexual harassment; ② Procedures or criteria for remedy in the event of sexual harassment at work; ③ Consultation for grievances and procedures for remedy for victims of sexual harassment at work; ④ Other items necessary to prevent sexual harassment at work.
A preventive program can be implemented through employee seminars, morning meetings, conferences in consideration of the size of the business and the situation. Simply distributing or putting up educational materials cannot be deemed as implementation of preventive training.
※ Article 39 (Fine for Negligence) ③ Any employer who failed to implement the measures prescribed in Article 13(1) shall be punished by a fine for negligence of 3 million won or less.

3. Measures to be taken when sexual harassment is reported at work

The employer shall take disciplinary action and other equivalent measures without delay upon the confirmation of sexual harassment at work(Article 14).

1) Upon receiving a report or discovering an occurrence of sexual harassment in the workplace, the employer shall immediately conduct an investigation to confirm the facts. In such cases, the employer must ensure that the worker who has reportedly suffered from sexual harassment on the job or who has claimed that sexual harassment occurred(hereinafter referred to as the “alleged employee victim etc.”) does not feel sexually humiliated during the investigation process.

2) In protecting an alleged employee victim etc. during the investigation, the employer shall take appropriate measures such as changing that person’s place of work or providing paid leave if necessary. In any case, the employer shall not take action that goes against the will of the alleged employee victim, etc.

3) If the investigation confirms that sexual harassment has occurred on the job against the alleged employee victim(upon confirmation, hereafter referred to as the “employee victim”), the employer shall take measures as necessary and as requested by the employee victim, such as changing the place of work, transferring, or providing the employee victim with paid leave.

4) If the investigation identifies the perpetrator of sexual harassment on the job, the employer shall immediately change the perpetrator’s place of work or take other disciplinary actions. In such cases, the employer shall listen to the view of the employee victim on the disciplinary action before carrying it out.

5) Persons who investigate the report of sexual harassment on the job as prescribed in paragraph 2), who receive such a report, or who participate in the investigation process shall not divulge the confidential information they learn during the investigation against the will of the employee victim etc.: Provided, that this shall not apply to cases where they are reporting information relevant to the investigation to the employer or providing necessary information upon request from relevant institutions.
※ In violation of 1) to 5) above: Article 39 (Fine for Negligence) (2) An employer who commits an action in violation of Article 14(1) shall be punished by a fine for negligence of five million won or less.

6) Employers shall not take any of the disadvantageous actions listed in the following subparagraphs against an employee who reports sexual harassment or against an(alleged) employee victim etc.:
① Expulsion, dismissal or any disadvantageous measures corresponding to rejection of the worker’s status;
② Unfair personnel actions such as levying penalties, suspending, reducing wages, demoting, or limiting promotion;
③ Unfair personnel actions such as relieving of all duties or reassigning duties against the worker’s will;
④ Discriminative evaluations of achievement, peer evaluations or unfair payment of wages or bonuses based on such unfair evaluations;
⑤ Limiting educational or training opportunities to develop and/or improve vocational abilities;
⑥ Perpetrating actions such as bullying, physical or verbal abuse which inflict emotional or physical damage, or neglecting to stop the occurrence of such actions;
⑦ Any other disadvantageous measures against the will of the worker who reported the sexual harassment or against the employee victim etc.
※ Article 37 (Penal Provisions) (2) An employer who commits an act in violation of Article 14(6) shall be punished by imprisonment of three years or less or a penalty of 30 million won or less.

4. Application to dispatch employees

When the provision of Article 13(1) is applied to a workplace where dispatch employees are used pursuant to the Act relating to Protection, etc. of Dispatch Employees, the using employer prescribed in Article 2(4) of the Act relating to Protection, etc. of Dispatch Employees shall be regarded as the employer prescribed in this Act.

Ⅳ. Employer’s Procedures in Dealing with Sexual Harassment Cases

Upon receiving a complaint of sexual harassment, the employer shall conduct interviews, investigate the facts, implement appropriate measures, such as disciplinary punishment, etc. and then inform the alleged victim-employee.

- 1st stage: Receipt of sexual harassment report
The person-in-charge of a help organization in the company, personnel or labor department receives the case.

- 2nd stage: Interviews and investigation
Upon receiving the report, the person-in-charge shall quickly interview and thoroughly investigate. If necessary, the investigator can hear the suspect’s testimony instead by organizing a face-to-face meeting between the alleged victim and the suspect.
The person-in-charge shall weigh the collected information obtained during investigations. As soon as the person-in-charge draws an official opinion, it shall be reported to the employer.

- 3rd stage: Confirmation and disciplinary action
Upon confirming that sexual harassment has occurred, the employer shall take appropriate measures such as transferring the offender to a different department or position, issuing a warning or reprimand, suspending from work, or dismissing the offender. If light disciplinary punishment such as a warning fails to deter the offender from repeating the sexual harassment, the employer shall take harsher disciplinary measures. Also, the victim may request a transfer to another department.

- 4th stage: Report of the results
Upon closing the investigation, the company shall notify the(alleged) victim and the(alleged) offender of the results.

- 5th stage: Preventative actions
The employer shall pay special concern to the victim employee after the closure of a confirmed case of sexual harassment to prevent further harassment of that employee.