Company Also Liable for Sexual Harassment Occurring Therein

Civil Division 18 of the Seoul District Court ruled yesterday for the 40 female employees of Hotel Lotte, Inc. They have filed a lawsuit against Hotel Lotte, Inc. and 8 superiors of them, alleging that they have been sexually harassed on a regular basis. The court held, "This court orders that defendants pay to the 19 plaintiffs \30 million [approximately $25,000] in damages." But the court dismissed the claims of the other 21 plaintiffs.

In its unusual move, the court held the defendants liable for the shameful feeling a female employee felt from watching her female colleagues being sexually harassed by their higher-ups at a company dinner party.

The court held, "The company shall be jointly held liable for the misconduct of its employees. The company has been aware that its male supervisors harassed the female employees at such occasions as the company picnic, which the court deemed were conducted in line of daily business operation. The level of the misconduct was not reasonably acceptable by an ordinary person. Nonetheless, the company knowingly and negligently failed to take any actions to correct the situation."

The court continued, "The defendant company alleges that it had diligently taken all the necessary preventive measures by educating its employees about sexual harassment. This court, however, does not deem the defendant company took sufficient actions just by holding sexual harassment classes on a regular basis, considering the nature of the hotel business, which contains a higher risk of sexual harassment. The defendant company is found to have breached its contractual obligation of protecting its employees, and, therefore, shall be jointly held liable for its male employees` misconduct."

Attorney Kang Moon-dae, who has represented the plaintiffs, said, "It is meaningful that the court found the company partially liable and rendered damages for the `second-hand` sexual harassment. The court, however, interpreted the liability of the company too narrowly. I feel the court avoided the efforts our society has made to improve the working environment for women."

Originally, 270 female employees of Hotel Lotte filed a \1.76 billion lawsuit against the hotel in August of 2000, alleging that they had been sexually harassed on a regular basis. During the pretrial proceedings, 230 of the original plaintiffs dropped their case. Thus, the court rendered its judgment only on the remaining 40 plaintiffs.

Jin-Kyun Kil leon@donga.com