South Korea sees surge in workplace harassment claims as official recognition drops

Data released by Rep. Park Jee-hye show that workplace harassment reports filed with the Ministry of Employment and Labor more than doubled from 7,774 in 2021 to 16,373 in 2025. During the same period, claims for mental-health disorders such as depression and anxiety, attributed to work-related stress, increased from 696 to 754, yet the recognition rate dropped from 70.5% to 55.8%. Approved cases have lingered in the low-four-hundreds after peaking at 491 in 2021.

Applications seeking acknowledgment of suicide as a work-related death have fluctuated, with recognition rates falling each year except a slight rise in 2025. Critics argue that stringent documentation requirements hinder compensation, and Park has urged the Labor Ministry to adopt a zero-tolerance stance on harassment. Despite a 2019 amendment to the Labor Standards Act prohibiting harassment, a recent Gabjil 119 survey found that 32.1% of workers experienced it, and more than half of those did not report the abuse.