A Sri Lankan employee at a brick manufacturing plant in Naju, South Jeolla Province, is bound with plastic wrap to a pallet of bricks and lifted into the air by a forklift on July 24. (Gallery)
A Sri Lankan employee at a brick manufacturing plant in Naju, South Jeolla Province, is bound with plastic wrap to a pallet of bricks and lifted into the air by a forklift on July 24. (Gallery)

The Labor Ministry has fined an employer 3 million won ($2,200) and referred a worker to prosecutors over the abuse of a Sri Lankan employee at a brick manufacturing plant in Naju, South Jeolla Province.

Announcing the results of a labor inspection Sunday, the ministry said it found 12 violations of labor laws at the plant, including unpaid wages totaling 29 million won, and ordered corrective action.

The case drew public attention after a video circulated early last month showing the 31-year-old victim bound with white plastic wrap to a pallet of bricks and lifted into the air by a forklift. Co-workers were heard mocking him, saying, “Did you do something wrong? Say you did.”

Authorities determined the act constituted workplace harassment under the Labor Standards Act. Under current law, employers, not perpetrators, are liable for fines in such cases. The accused worker faces up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won for violating the ban on workplace assaults.


jychoi@heraldcorp.com