Naver employee found dead after suspected workplace bullying

The Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, seen in this April 25 photo / Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

An employee of Naver was found dead recently after leaving a message implying workplace bullying within the internet giant.

According to the Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, the man, in his 40s, was found dead on the afternoon of May 25 near his apartment, located close to the company’s headquarters.

The police temporarily concluded that there is no suspicion of foul play. And a memo presumed to have been written by the worker was found at the scene of death, which indicated extreme stress from workplace bullying, with the names of several people on it.

The police said they would investigate everyone whose names appear in the memo, as well as his coworkers to see if he had suffered from bullying.

Some Naver employees using Blind, a local anonymous online community among office workers, wrote that the man had been exposed to workplace bullying such as abusive language and physical punishment.

Meanwhile, the labor union of Naver said they suspect the worker had suffered stress from a heavy workload and workplace bullying from senior employees.

“If it is found true, it is a clear accident on duty,” the union said in a statement, Friday. “If it is found that he couldn’t speak out about his difficulties due to defects in the company’s personnel affairs system, we’ll demand the company improve the relevant system.”

*If you need expert help due to depression or other difficult concerns, you can receive 24-hour counseling at the Korean Suicide Prevention Center’s hotline at 1393.