Interviewer who harassed job seeker for 20 minutes during interview fined... Why?

[Financial News]  A youth protection facility operator in Iksan, Jeonbuk, was fined for harassing a job seeker for 20 minutes with remarks unrelated to the job during an interview for a counselor position.
Jeonju District Court Gunsan Branch announced on the 18th that it decided to impose a fine of 3 million won on facility operator Mr. A, who objected to the fine imposed by the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office Iksan Branch.
Mr. A participated as an interviewer in the public recruitment of counselors for the facility in February last year and was investigated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor for forcing job seeker Mr. B to answer questions by revealing personal feelings from past litigation.
At the time, he said to Mr. B, "Didn't you make me a defendant?", "Even if the lawsuit was withdrawn then, the issue still remains," for 20 minutes.
In response, Mr. B repeatedly requested, "Please discuss that issue elsewhere" and asked to be questioned about work capabilities, but Mr. A only talked about past matters throughout the interview.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor considered this interview behavior to constitute workplace harassment, but Mr. A appealed the fine, claiming a violation of the Labor Standards Act in court.
The court pointed out, "The conduct of the violator (Mr. A) during the interview appears to have exceeded the appropriate range, causing mental distress to the job seeker or worsening the work environment," and "It can be seen as going beyond the scope of confirming the job seeker's attitude towards job performance and organizational harmony as an interviewer."
Furthermore, "The violator claims that workplace harassment does not apply because he did not enter into an employment contract with Mr. B, who was merely an interviewee, but since Mr. B was already working in a subordinate position at the facility, that claim is not accepted," it explained.


jjw@fnnews.com Jiwoo Jeong Reporter