Defense Through a Chuncheon Attorney Consultation | A Case of Dismissing a Damages Claim for Workplace Sexual Harassment with the Help of Daeryun

The client carried out volunteer activities together with the plaintiff for one month.

However, after all of the volunteer activities had ended, the plaintiff filed a claim for damages against the client, asserting the charge of “workplace sexual harassment.”

Upon reviewing the complaint, the plaintiff argued that the client had tried to question the plaintiff about personal matters and had continuously made the plaintiff uncomfortable by sitting next to the plaintiff or speaking to the plaintiff, that this constituted workplace sexual harassment, and that the client was therefore liable for damages.

The client felt deeply aggrieved because these were actions taken in the belief that the client had grown close to the plaintiff through the volunteer activities, there was no intention of sexual harassment whatsoever, and they were truly the kind of casual actions that can take place between friends.

🔗the Daeryun Chuncheon Office stated that it would provide assistance with the aim of obtaining a dismissal of the plaintiff's claim in order to resolve the client's grievance.

🔗Workplace sexual harassment refers to conduct in which an employer or a worker, by using their position within the workplace or in connection with work, engages in sexual words or behavior toward another worker that causes sexual humiliation or discomfort.

As with the client above, cases in which a person experiences sexual harassment during volunteer work are also included, and any conduct that could cause sexual humiliation during the recruitment process for a part-time position or in the course of part-time work may likewise be reported as workplace sexual harassment.

■ Requirements for Workplace Sexual Harassment

Workplace sexual harassment must have a connection to work. It also constitutes workplace sexual harassment where sexual words or behavior occur in connection with the performance of work, or where a person abuses their authority to carry out sexual conduct under the guise of performing work.

Where a person uses their position or a connection to work is established, conduct may amount to workplace sexual harassment even outside the workplace, such as on the way home from work, at a company dinner, or on a company outing.

■ Types of Workplace Sexual Harassment

During the training conducted before the volunteer work, the client sat next to the plaintiff, engaged in extensive conversation, and had developed a certain degree of familiarity with the plaintiff.

The plaintiff's father had given a ride to the volunteer site to several volunteer members, including the client, and the client, wishing to express gratitude, asked about the father's age and where he lived. The plaintiff claimed that this amounted to sexual harassment.

It was argued that these were simply questions through which the client sought to express thanks and to draw out conversation, that there was naturally no sexual intent, and that, even from the perspective of general tort law, the remarks posed no problem whatsoever.

According to the manual on the prevention of and response to workplace sexual harassment distributed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, conduct constituting “physical sexual harassment” is as follows.

1) Physical Sexual Harassment

Physical sexual harassment is conduct that, regardless of the other party's will, involves physical contact or the touching of specific body parts, thereby causing the victim sexual humiliation or revulsion.

- Acts of physical contact such as kissing, hugging, or embracing from behind

- Touching specific body parts such as the chest or buttocks

- Forcing a person to give a massage or caress

It was argued, however, that merely sitting next to the plaintiff or speaking to the plaintiff was conduct that was not specified at all and therefore could not constitute workplace sexual harassment or a tort.