🤝 Workplace harassment prevention training
Workplace harassment prevention training is one of the courses managers ask about most, alongside statutory mandatory training. Yet no law makes the training itself mandatory. What is mandatory is not the training but “properly investigating and taking action when harassment occurs.”
So there is no fine for skipping the training, but when an incident occurs, whether the company made prevention efforts becomes a factor in judging whether its response was adequate. That is why most companies run it every year alongside sexual harassment prevention training.
Legal requirements at a glance
Legal basis: Labor Standards Act Article 76-2 (Prohibition of Workplace Harassment) · Article 76-3 (Measures When It Occurs) · Fines under Article 116
| Training requirement | No provision requires private-sector employers to provide workplace harassment prevention training. That is why it is not usually counted as “statutory mandatory training.” |
|---|---|
| Scope | The workplace harassment prohibition and action provisions apply to workplaces with 5 or more regular employees (they do not apply at all to workplaces with fewer than 5). |
| Employer’s duty to act | When you receive or become aware of a report, you must investigate objectively without delay and take measures such as protecting the victim and disciplining the offender, and you must not treat the reporter or victim unfavorably. |
| Fines | An employer (including family members) who personally commits harassment faces an administrative fine of up to KRW 10 million (≈ US$7,480); failing to meet the duty to investigate and take action carries a fine of up to KRW 5 million (≈ US$3,740). Unfavorable treatment is subject to criminal penalties. |
| Rules of employment | Workplaces with 10 or more regular employees must include provisions on preventing workplace harassment and on action when it occurs in their work rules. |
| Relationship to regular occupational safety training | The content of regular occupational safety and health training for employees includes “preventing health damage from workplace harassment, abusive customers, and similar causes.” |
What the training must cover
There are no statutory items, but meeting your duty to take action usually means covering the following.
- Legal criteria for workplace harassment (superior position or relationship, beyond the appropriate scope of work, physical or mental distress)
- Case examples by type — verbal abuse, ostracism, unreasonable orders, personal errands
- Reporting, investigation and action procedures, and confidentiality
- Managers’ initial response and preventing secondary harm
- Protection from external factors such as abusive customers and power-trip behavior
Common points of confusion
Training is not required by law — many clients request harassment training on its own, marking it “not statutory mandatory training.” These companies run it even though the law does not require it.
Manager sessions matter most — many harassment cases escalate because of how a manager first responds. Companies often schedule a separate session for managers only.
Training for offenders is designed separately — some clients ask for offender training alongside disciplinary action. Its purpose differs from general prevention training, so we design it as a separate program.
Pairing with sexual harassment prevention is the standard — 1 hour of sexual harassment plus 1 hour of harassment prevention is the most common setup, and the instructor’s fee is billed once for the 2-hour session.
What official statistics show
Official national statistics, shown with their source and reference year. Figures are based on each survey’s respondents and update automatically when a new survey is released.
In the Office for Government Policy Coordination’s “Survey on the Lives of Young People” (2024), 65.6% of young respondents said their workplace has no harassment response policy or procedure, or that they don’t know. Only 32.4% said it does.
Source: Office for Government Policy Coordination, Survey on Youth Life · KOSIS National Statistical Portal
When Nanum Consulting delivers it
Nanum Consulting delivers this subject on-site as the Workplace Harassment Prevention and Abuse-of-Power (Gapjil) Prevention Training course. Rather than memorizing criteria, participants work through ambiguous cases and judge for themselves, “Is this harassment?”
We build the manager session separately, centered on the first 24 hours of response after a report is received.
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1 hour of harassment prevention plus 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention, a 2-hour program for KRW 1 (≈ US$1) million, is the most common combination.
Harassment prevention — FAQ
Is workplace harassment prevention training legally required in Korea?
Is there a fine for skipping harassment prevention training?
Can we run sexual harassment prevention training and harassment prevention training together?
View other mandatory training
Legal basis · Sources
- Labor Standards Act Articles 76-2 and 76-3 (Korea Law Information Center)
- Labor Standards Act, Article 116 (Fines)
The governing law, who is covered, hours, and fines may vary by workplace size, industry, and legal amendments. This page is general information to aid understanding. Please check the relevant laws and your local Ministry of Employment and Labor office to confirm how they apply to your workplace. .