A Korean court has ruled that even harsh insults between coworkers do not automatically qualify as workplace bullying if there is no hierarchical or relational superiority involved.


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⚖️ Court & Decision

Court: Seoul Administrative Court

Decision Date: December 11, 2025

Result: Employee partially won — 1-month pay cut overturned



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🧾 Background of the Dispute

Two call center employees (A and B) were:

– Hired at the same time

– Performing identical duties

– Similar in performance and tenure


B reported A for workplace bullying, alleging that A:

– Publicly insulted her, shouting phrases like:

“You crazy person, come out!”

“Personal bankruptcy, inferiority complex”


– Deleted customer database information

– Misrepresented conversations to management


The company concluded A held a “relational superiority” position and disciplined A with a 1-month salary reduction.

Both the Seoul Regional Labor Commission and the National Labor Relations Commission upheld the discipline.


A then filed an administrative lawsuit.


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🧠 The Court’s Key Legal Reasoning

The court emphasized a crucial legal element:

> Workplace bullying requires use of “superior status or relational advantage.”



The judges found:

A and B were equal in rank and tenure.

B was actually the oldest among the six counselors.

They had the same job responsibilities.

Coworkers testified they were in an equal relationship.

There was no evidence A had authority over B.


The court held:

Even if insulting language was used,

Without hierarchical or relational superiority,
the conduct does not legally meet the definition of workplace bullying under Korean law.



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📌 Final Outcome

The disciplinary basis was not legally satisfied.

The labor commission’s decision was ruled unlawful.

The 1-month pay reduction was canceled.



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📚 Why This Case Matters

This ruling clarifies an important point in Korean workplace law:

Offensive speech alone is not enough.

There must be:

A power imbalance

Or exploitation of superior status


Equal coworkers arguing or insulting each other does not automatically become statutory “workplace bullying.”


The case narrows how broadly companies can apply workplace harassment rules — particularly in peer-to-peer conflicts.

Article: https://www.lawtimes.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=216307