The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced Monday it will implement strengthened policies to eradicate workplace bullying and harassment across all institutions starting March, aiming to restore trust among its education community.
The provincial education office has continued to advance related policies, including operating response systems following amendments to the "Ordinance on Prohibition of Workplace Bullying and Harassment." Nevertheless, calls from the field to further strengthen fairness and objectivity in case investigation and judgment processes have persisted.
In response, the office is overhauling its system to standardize the entire case-handling process and enhance credibility in investigation and judgment stages.
Key measures to improve objectivity and reliability include: establishing and operating a workplace bullying judgment committee while expanding consultation on investigation results; strengthening the audit department's review and judgment functions; enabling reinvestigation when new evidence or facts emerge, critical matters are omitted, or forgery is confirmed; imposing disciplinary action for repeated bullying or secondary victimization; taking measures including disciplinary action against false reporters; preparing mediation agreements when mutual settlement is reached; and mandating expert consultation for institutions with three or more reported incidents.
The office will also conduct surveys to diagnose causes and prevent workplace bullying and harassment. Based on a bullying index measuring the likelihood of incidents twice annually, the office plans to provide expert consultation and improvement recommendations, with intensive management of vulnerable institutions to spread a culture of mutual respect.
The provincial education office said it will actively pursue policies to eradicate workplace bullying and harassment that produce tangible results in the field, prioritizing victim protection while working continuously to establish an organizational culture of mutual respect.
