직장 내 괴롭힘 2차 피해의 법적 쟁점과 과제

Since the introduction of the workplace harassment prevention system into the Labor Standards Act in 2019, reporting and case handling have steadily increased. However, secondary victimization—such as slander, retaliation, or defamation against victims—continues to occur even after investigations, undermining workplace order as severely as direct harassment. The current Act imposes on employers a duty to prevent and respond, prohibits disadvantageous treatment, and requires investigator confidentiality. Yet it neither defines nor explicitly prohibits secondary victimization, and it imposes no duty on employees to refrain from such conduct. From the victim’s standpoint, secondary harm may arise regardless of the perpetrator, highlighting a structural gap in protection. To address this, the law should explicitly ban secondary victimization by both employers and employees. The Ministry of Employment and Labor’s manual should also adopt preventive guidelines, mirroring those for sexual harassment. Furthermore, internal rules must protect victim identity and require consent before using case details in training. Investigator competence should be reinforced, and legislation should mandate external experts to ensure fairness and confidentiality in investigations. This study argues that filling these legal and institutional gaps is essential to creating a safer and harassment-free workplace culture.