[비즈한국] Indefinite contract workers at the Lotte Chilsung005300 Beverage (Lotte Chilsung) Gangneung plant have come forward to report workplace harassment and wage discrimination. On the 20th, the Gangwon branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, the Gangwon regional headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and the indefinite contract employees of Lotte Chilsung held a press conference in front of the Gangneung Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, urging a government investigation.
During the press conference, they claimed, "Female workers on indefinite contracts were employed by subcontractors starting in the early 2000s, were converted to contract positions in April 2016 due to illegal dispatch issues, and were converted to indefinite contract positions two years later in April 2018." They added, "Although we have been performing the same work as regular employees for a long time, we are being discriminated against by not receiving the allowances we are entitled to simply because we are 'indefinite contract' workers, and by being assigned tasks different from those specified in our employment contracts." They further stated, "We have suffered from workplace harassment such as verbal abuse, pressure to resign, unequal compensation, and the spreading of malicious rumors, but the company dismissed the incidents, claiming they were not substantiated."
According to them, Lotte Chilsung employee A injured her back while working in September 2021, but because the company did not process it as an industrial accident, she had to take sick leave and pay for her own treatment. She also reportedly did not receive a performance bonus in 2022. A stated that when she inquired with the company about these issues, she was instead pressured to be careful with her words and actions.
Employee B stated that she had written a false statement as bait for conversion to a regular position, but made a declaration of conscience early this year and reported the workplace harassment. However, she claimed that she was instead subjected to numerous interviews and explicit harassment by the company. B is currently receiving hospital treatment for severe depression.
Lotte Chilsung stated that because the nature of the work between indefinite contract workers and regular employees differs, their wage structures are also different, and that it is difficult to recognize the claims of workplace harassment. A Lotte Chilsung official explained, "Indefinite contract workers at the Gangneung plant are engaged only in simple labor, and there are no regular employees who perform the same tasks. Nevertheless, their welfare benefits are the same as those of regular employees; only the wage system is different."
The official added, "Regarding the allegations of workplace harassment, we hired an external labor attorney to investigate. After the investigation, we even held a Human Rights Violation Relief Committee for in-depth deliberation, but concluded that it was difficult to recognize as workplace harassment. We submitted the results and grounds for this judgment to the Gangneung Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which handled the petition, and received confirmation that the investigation results were processed without any issues."
As the positions of both labor and management remain sharply divided, the conflict at the Lotte Chilsung Gangneung plant does not appear likely to be resolved in the short term.
Lotte Chilsung is a company that has prided itself on good labor-management relations. In July of this year, it was selected as a '2025 Labor-Management Culture Excellence Enterprise' by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. At the time, Lotte Chilsung stated, "As a workplace with no labor disputes for 51 years, Lotte Chilsung is making various efforts to create a good workplace through labor-management cooperation. Through consistent efforts, we have signed ESG mutual growth agreements with partner companies, and in December 2024, we were certified as an excellent enterprise for Fair Trade Compliance (CP) by the Fair Trade Commission."