When workplace sexual harassment happens in Korea, the harasser is not the only one on the hook. The Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act (the Equal Employment Act) requires the employer to run prevention training every year, to investigate without delay once a report comes in, and to protect the victim and discipline the harasser once the facts are confirmed, and it fines each failure. An employer who harasses someone personally faces a fine of up to 10 million won; skipping training, investigation or discipline means up to 5 million won. Punishing the person who reported is not a fine but a crime, with up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. We added a checker that shows the Decree schedule’s standard amount for each breach.
1. The employer harasses personally → fine up to 10 million won (Art. 39(2)); the schedule sets 3, 5 or 10 million won.
2. No training, investigation, victim protection or discipline → up to 5 million won (Art. 39(3)).
3. Unfavourable treatment of a reporter or victim → up to 3 years in prison or a 30 million won fine (Art. 37(2)2).
Checker
Updates as you choose. Amounts are the Decree schedule’s standard amounts. A reduction of up to half is allowed for a minor slip, efforts to fix the breach, or other circumstances, but not while the fine is in arrears; an increase of up to half may not exceed the Act’s cap. The actual amount is decided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
What counts as workplace sexual harassment — Art. 2(2)
The Act defines it as an employer, manager or worker, using their position at work or in connection with work, causing another worker sexual humiliation or disgust through sexual words or conduct, or disadvantaging them in working conditions or employment for not going along with sexual conduct or other demands. There are two strands: the conduct itself, and retaliation for refusing. “Worker” includes people seeking employment (Art. 2(4)), so we read a job interview as inside the definition (our reading).
Article 12 bans harassment by “an employer, a manager or a worker”. But the fine in Art. 39(2) currently targets only the employer. Harassment by a manager or co-worker becomes something the employer must investigate and act on (Art. 14), and an employer who fails to do so is fined up to 5 million won.
What the employer must do — Arts. 13 and 14
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Training (Art. 13(1)) | Prevention training every year | Decree Art. 3: at least once a year |
| Attending (Art. 13(2)) | Employers and workers must attend | The owner too |
| Posting (Art. 13(3)) | Training content always posted or kept where staff can read it freely | — |
| Investigation (Art. 14(2)) | On a report or on learning of it, investigate without delay, without causing the victim sexual shame | No day count is given |
| Protection during it (Art. 14(3)) | If needed, a change of workplace or paid leave — never against the victim’s wishes | Not on the fine list (our reading) |
| Victim, once confirmed (Art. 14(4)) | On the victim’s request, a change of workplace, transfer or paid leave | A request triggers the duty |
| Harasser, once confirmed (Art. 14(5)) | Discipline or a workplace change without delay; hear the victim before disciplining | The hearing duty is outside the fine wording (our reading) |
| No retaliation (Art. 14(6)) | Seven kinds of unfavourable treatment banned — dismissal, discipline or pay cuts, no duties, biased appraisal, blocked training, tolerated bullying and more | A crime (Art. 37(2)2) |
| Confidentiality (Art. 14(7)) | Investigators may not leak what they learned against the victim’s wishes | Reports to the employer and official requests excepted |
Harassment by customers also falls partly on the employer. Article 14-2(1) requires a change of workplace, transfer, paid leave or other suitable measures when a customer or other closely connected person sexually humiliates a worker and the worker asks for help, and Art. 14-2(2) forbids dismissing or disadvantaging the worker for raising it.
Fine amounts — the Decree schedule
| Breach (provision) | Schedule / Act cap | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Employer harassment — again within 3 years of a harassment fine (Art. 12) | 10 million won / 10 million | Already at the cap |
| Employer harassment — one person repeatedly, or 2 or more people | 5 million won / 10 million | Up to 7.5 million if increased (our sum) |
| Employer harassment — any other case | 3 million won / 10 million | Up to 4.5 million if increased (our sum) |
| No training (Art. 13(1)) · not posted (Art. 13(3)) | 5 million won / 5 million | — |
| No investigation (14(2)) · no victim measures (14(4)) · no discipline (14(5)) · leak (14(7)) | 5 million won each / 5 million | — |
| Customer harassment — no measures (Art. 14-2(1)) | 3 million won / 3 million | Art. 39(4) |
| Customer harassment — worker punished (Art. 14-2(2)) | 5 million won / 5 million | Art. 39(3)2 |
The schedule’s general rules also set how far amounts move. If the breach was a minor slip or error, if efforts to correct it are recognised, or if the motive and result call for it, the fine may be cut by up to half — but not while a fine is in arrears. It may also be raised by up to half, never above the Art. 39 cap. So a 3 million won standard moves between 1.5 and 4.5 million won, and a 5 million won standard with a 5 million cap between 2.5 and 5 million (our sums). Escalation by repeat count (within 2 years) applies in this schedule only to two items on correction orders, not to the harassment items.
From 27 November — representatives and relatives too
The law database also shows provisions amended on 26 May 2026 and taking effect on 27 November 2026. Three things change.
| Provision | Now | From 27 November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 2(2) (definition) | An employer, manager or worker | An employer, a corporate representative, a manager or a worker |
| Art. 13(2) (attending training) | Employers and workers | Employers, corporate representatives, managers and workers |
| Art. 39(2) (fine up to 10 million won) | Harassment by the employer | Also by a corporate representative or a relative of the employer or representative on the staff (relatives under Civil Act Art. 767 as set by Decree) |
The circle of relatives is left to a Presidential Decree, but the Decree we read on 29 October 2026 (in force since 18 September 2026) does not yet set it, and the fine schedule still reads “where an employer violates Art. 12”. So if you choose a representative or relative, the checker shows “covered for acts from 27 November” instead of an amount.
Prevention training — Decree Art. 3
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| How often (1) | At least once a year | — |
| Content (2) | (1) the law on workplace sexual harassment (2) this workplace’s handling procedure and standards (3) counselling and remedies for victims (4) anything else needed | All four |
| Method (3) | Staff sessions, morning meetings, online courses and so on. Merely handing out or posting material, emailing or a notice-board post does not count | Delivery must be checkable |
| Small workplaces (4) | Fewer than 10 regular workers, or an all-male or all-female workplace including the owner, may post or hand out materials instead | Exception to (3) |
| Courses (5) | Completing an accredited course containing the (2) content counts | — |
Three cases — our examples
| Situation (our example) | Result | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 staff, no training this year, slides sent by group email | Art. 13(1) breach — standard 5 million won | Email alone is not training (Decree Art. 3(3)); under 10 staff, posting works |
| A report about a team leader not investigated for over a month | Art. 14(2) breach — standard 5 million won | No fine on the team leader personally — a matter for company discipline |
| The owner harasses 2 staff, no effort to put it right | Art. 12 — standard 5 million won, up to 7.5 million if increased | 10 million if repeated within 3 years |
Checklist
- ☐ Training held this year, in a way that records attendance
- ☐ Training content always posted where staff can see it
- ☐ A reporting channel and investigator in place — investigate “without delay”
- ☐ Interim measures not against the victim’s wishes
- ☐ The victim heard before discipline
- ☐ The reporter’s appraisal, posting and training unchanged — retaliation is a crime
Questions that remain
How is this different from workplace harassment?
Workplace bullying falls under the Labor Standards Act; sexual harassment under the Equal Employment Act. Duties and penalties for bullying are in workplace harassment in Korea. Whether one act can fall under both we did not examine.
Is the company responsible for harassment by a customer?
If the worker asks, the employer must change the workplace or similar (Art. 14-2(1), 3 million won), and punishing the worker for raising it is 5 million won. Protection from customer abuse in general is in customer abuse protection for service workers.
Does paying the fine end it?
A fine is an administrative sanction. Damages to the victim and liability under other laws are outside this article.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Equal Employment Act Arts. 2, 12–14-2, 37, 39 — source (current text, effective 18 September 2026, Act No. 21476, with provisions in force from 27 November 2026 shown; checked 29 October 2026). Definitions (2 and 4), the ban, training and posting, investigation, protection, discipline, the seven forms of retaliation, confidentiality, customer harassment, the 3-year / 30 million won penalty, fines of 10, 5 and 3 million won. Provisions in force from 27 November 2026 (representatives, relatives) also read.
- Korean law database — the Act’s Enforcement Decree Arts. 3, 22 and Schedule (fine standards) — source (effective 18 September 2026, Decree No. 36589; schedule amended 18 August 2026; checked 29 October 2026). Training frequency, content and method, the under-10 exception, general rules (half down or up, arrears), individual amounts.
- Not read. The addenda of the 26 May 2026 amendment (application rules, Act number); case law and guidance; overlap with the Labor Standards Act bullying rules.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Regional labour offices of the Ministry of Employment and Labor — reports and fines (we did not read the reporting guidance this time).
- Labor Relations Commission — corrective orders for discrimination (not covered here).
Written on 29 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
