Raising Queer Workers' Rights in South Korea

[Forum on LGBTQ labor rights and workplace harassment]

LGBTQ people have the right to work as themselves!

Many LGBTQ people in Korea are placed in an environment where they cannot reveal themselves in the workplace and work as themselves. This is because when your LGBTQ identity is disclosed, you may experience harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

The Act on Anti-Harassment in the Workplace has been enforced since July 2019, but there is no way to know what the remedy procedure is and whether it is available to LGBTQ people.

Therefore, Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea held a forum to share the workplace experiences and needs of LGBTQ workers and discuss how to respond together to the workplace harassment issue of LGBTQ workers.

The panel consisted of activists from labor organizations and trade union, who discussed general remedies and limitations of the current legislation on anti-harassment in the workplace, and the impact of workplace harassment on mental health. We discussed cases of LGBTQ workers responding to harassment in the workplace and the role of labor unions in such process.  

It was a forum in which various assignments were presented regarding the issue of LGBTQ workers and harassment in the workplace. Though we just started to talk about this issue, there were many participants from various fields, and everyone were enthusiastically participated in the discussion. Thanks to this event, we were able to identify what kinds of works we need to do for LGBTQ workers in Korea to work as themselves in the inclusive workplace.