Segye’s exclusive report details the outcome of the case.
That of South Korea Ministry of Employment and Labor has now concluded that there were no violations of the law by MOVESthat he allegedly swept a workplace accident that resulted in death under the rug.
On December 21, 2024 (KST), the Seoul Western District Office of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Bureau recently concluded its investigation into HYBE’s allegations “cover” that of an employee served (death due to overwork).
It issued an official response to the complaint case filed stating: “It’s difficult to consider [the case] a violation of the law,” and closed the case. The result would be communicated to HYBE on December 17th.
HYBE Insider tells all about employee ‘Gwarosa’ death discovered during audit
The allegation that HYBE concealed a served it was first brought to public attention during an audit of the National Assembly in October. I LOVE ITis the new CEO, Ju Young Kimwas questioned about the 2022 case in which a HYBE employee collapsed at work and later died, said to be due to overwork. A complaint based on that allegation was filed with the Labor Office, triggering an investigation into potential violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act.
Around September 2022, a government audit revealed a hidden case where a Hive employee collapsed and died from overwork while working in the office. pic.twitter.com/SLBVXlAMKW
— ᙏ̤̫ (@amorrmanet) October 15, 2024
Member of the National Assembly: We received a tip that in 2022, a HYBE employee fainted in the office and was taken to the hospital where he died. It is true?
Ju Young Kim: Yes, from what I understand, in September 2022, an employee went to the break room around 5pm, saying he was going to rest. Unfortunately they passed out and we found them in the break room and transferred them to the hospital. They died a few days later due to their personal illness. It’s an unfortunate case.
Member of the National Assembly: Personal illness, you say? Well, all the officials here think it’s overwork. Back then, HYBE was expanding its label system and workers had to take care of multiple artists at once, simultaneously going to overseas programs. There have been many cases like this among your workers where they had to work all day and all night. I checked with the Korea Workers’ Welfare Organization and there was no claim for accidental workplace injuries. You claim this is due to their personal illness, but we think you should have checked the problem and we believe it is due to overwork. We want to ask if the company tried to hide the death due to overwork.
An official from the labor office explained: “In this case, no industrial accident compensation claim was filed with the Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service of Korea, and the determination of a work-related health complication was not confirmed, leading to the conclusion that it is difficult to consider this as a legal violation.”
In other words, because the grieving family did not file a work injury report, it was not possible to assess whether the death was due to overwork.
Additionally, the investigation examined whether it was an industrial accident but also whether the incident was actively covered up. The ministry concluded that the concealment “cannot be established” if the victim’s family does not consider the case to be an accident at work.
Following Don’t worryFollowing K-Pop’s exclusive report on the outcome of the case, K-Pop fans took to online communities expressing disappointment, but mostly confusion at the conclusion reached, as well as the logic behind the conclusion.
- “The reasoning to say it’s not a problem is so evil. They are basically saying that since no work accident claim has been made, it makes no sense to determine whether it was a work accident or not. This reminds me of how Hanni’s case was also closed because they said she wasn’t considered a worker under the Labor Standards Act, and therefore workplace harassment doesn’t apply. The Ministry of Employment and Labor is essentially giving employers loopholes to exploit. LOL. If there is no relationship, then is it okay? This means that it is now entirely possible to hide deaths caused by overwork or stress in the workplace.”
- “If reporting isn’t enough, who would ever file a complaint? Employers would simply choose to settle things quietly with the grieving family.”
- “I only feel sorry for the deceased.”
- “Are you kidding me? LOL. Do they think all other companies are just stupid for reporting workplace accidents for minor issues? It was the Ministry itself that made such a fuss over unreported cases! That’s why at my old workplace, which was a foreign-based branch, they even issued a notice prohibiting employees from traveling by means other than public transportation in some countries, including Korea. LOL. Senior executives with company cars have also been told to avoid or completely banned from driving their own cars to work. This is because if something had happened while commuting and, for example, the employee had tried to hide it, the company could have faced serious consequences later. But why is it different for HYBE? They didn’t even report it, yet it’s not a problem? Isn’t that something worth arguing about? LOL.”
- “Wow… I hope the Yoon administration ends soon.”
- “Pfft.”
- “I imagine this is a case where HYBE didn’t even need to file a workplace accident report… as it wasn’t classified as such.”
- “But which type of workplace accident requires a report and which does not?”
- “Whoa…what is this?”
As this conclusion will be reflected in the review process for the potential withdrawal of HYBE’s “Leading Company” designation, the focus is on the final outcome of the withdrawal decision.
Read more about the petition to revoke HYBE’s “Leading Company” status here:
Petition to revoke HYBE’s “lead company” status gains enough signatures for National Assembly
