"Stand Facing the Wall"...Labor Ministry Exposes Abuse by Director of Famous Gangnam Dental Hospital

Leaving work at 1-2 a.m., abuse via messenger
Unpaid wages totaling 320 million won for 264 workers
50% of wages charged as damages for late resignation notice

At a well-known dental hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has confirmed habitual verbal abuse and assault by the director, workplace harassment, and large-scale wage arrears, and has taken action through a special labor inspection, including criminal charges and administrative fines.

On the 5th, the ministry announced the results of its special labor inspection of the so-called "Dd Dental Hospital" located in Gangnam, Seoul. It stated that it had identified a total of six violations of the Labor Standards Act, including assault by the hospital director, a liquidated damages clause in advance, violations of limits on overtime work, and unpaid wages, and had filed criminal charges. In addition, it imposed administrative fines totaling 18 million won for seven violations, including workplace harassment and failure to provide itemized pay statements.

This inspection was launched after a petition was filed in November last year requesting oversight of a so-called "liquidated damages in advance" clause that required employees to give one month's notice before resignation and to pay damages for any breach. During the inspection, additional reports from current employees alleged that the director's verbal abuse, physical assault, and harassment were severe. In response, the Seoul Gangnam District Office of the ministry immediately converted the case into a special labor inspection and conducted on-site investigations for about two months.

Workers testified, "We went home at 1 or 2 a.m., and had to endure abusive language all day via walkie-talkie and face-to-face, and after work through messenger," "We were punished by being made to stand facing a wall for hours on end because we left work 'too early'," and "We were forced to write multiple copies of the same letter of remorse."

To prove the criminal acts of verbal abuse, assault, and wage arrears, the ministry obtained search and seizure and inspection warrants and secured relevant materials. As a result, it confirmed circumstances in which the hospital director made a worker stand in a seminar room and struck the floor, walls, and door with an aluminum clothes-hanging rod, and kicked a worker in the shin.

The hospital also drafted, as an attachment to the employment contract, a confirmation document that made written application 30 days prior to resignation mandatory and stipulated that, if violated, the worker must compensate 50% of their average daily wage for each day. A total of 89 such documents were secured. The hospital sent content-certified letters demanding damages to 39 actual resigning employees, collected 6.69 million won from five of them, and was found to be in the process of payment order lawsuits against 11 others.

Violations of working hours were also widespread. Due to frequent additional work orders after the end of treatment hours, 106 employees exceeded the legal limit on overtime work a total of 813 times. Although prior approval was formally required for overtime, reprimands and pressure were applied when approval was requested, effectively resulting in unauthorized overtime. Overtime, night, and holiday allowances related to this work were not paid. The total amount of unpaid wages came to 320 million won for 264 employees.

Workplace harassment also occurred habitually. Through group chat rooms and walkie-talkies, insults such as "retards" and "trash" were repeatedly used. For minor mistakes, employees were punished by being made to stand facing a wall for 1 to 2 hours, and they were forced to submit letters of remorse repeatedly on work-related matters, sometimes up to 20 pages at a time. A total of 513 such incidents were identified.

During the inspection period, the ministry, through active guidance and measures, ensured that the entire 320 million won in unpaid wages was settled, and it had all damage claims against the 11 former employees withdrawn. It also ordered the immediate return of the 6.69 million won already collected and separately notified all former employees who had received content-certified letters that the liquidated damages clause in question was null and void.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Younghoon said, "My heart aches when I think of the workers who have endured continuous assault and harassment in their workplace," adding, "Going forward, through inspections that do not overlook even the smallest voices on site, we will strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy on assault and harassment, and at the same time conduct education and publicity to root out unfair practices such as liquidated damages in advance clauses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.