Naver: Labor union demanding for Choi In Hyuk’s resignation due to the bullying incident

Naver is still dealing with the aftermath of the bullying incident in the company that led to the suicide of an employee last month. It was reported that the tech company’s chief operating officer, Choi In Hyuk, was blamed for the bullying in the workplace, so there are calls for him to leave the company.

The call for chief In Hyuk to step down

A programmer named Byun Dae Gyu, who is in his 40s, took his own life after allegedly being bullied at work. For what happened, Cho In Hyuk declared last week that he will resign as Naver’s chief operating officer, but while this was welcomed by many, the labor union is demanding more from him.

He may have resigned as COO, but he remained as the Happybean Foundation and Naver Financial’s chief executive officer. The labor union wants him to step down from all of his positions in the company and not just from one post.

According to The Korea Times, the workers' union further requested for Naver to form a task force to prevent any forms of bullying from ever happening again in the future at the workplace. The union is asking for the group to have an equal number of members from both the company’s management and the union.

The workers said that if the management refused to grant this request, they would consider taking possible collective action. This means that the union is warning the company that they would stage organized demonstrations and rallies if the request is turned down.

"We have decided that Choi is no longer qualified to serve as an executive either at Naver HQ or at any of its affiliates,” an official from the union said. “We urge the firm to dismiss him from all of his positions at Naver, including Naver Financial."

The investigation on the employee’s bullying case and death

Naver launched its own investigation on the programmer's death, and the internal probe revealed that Choi In Hyuk had given him a hard time at the office. As a result, the company suspended the executive from his COO position, and Naver said there would be no additional punishment, but he offered to quit.

Korea Joongang Daily notes that his resignation comes about a month after the suicide incident. In his suicide note and other records, the employee said he was subjected to physical and verbal abuse at the hands of an executive.

The executive mentioned was his direct superior and chief leader of the map development team surnamed Shin. Shin serves Choi In Hyuk, so he was said to be an indirect participant in the case.