Panama Embassy in Korea forces employee who applied for reduced work hours to raise children to ”clean out warehouse”

It has become controversial that the Panamanian Embassy in South Korea has changed the duties of an employee who expressed an intention to apply for reduced working hours for childcare to "tidying up the underground storeroom."
According to a JTBC report on the 4th, Ms. A, a Korean employee who has worked at the Panama Embassy in Korea for over 10 years, was arrested in October last year for a childcare leave from her team.
A expressed her intention to apply for reduced work hours. However, before she could submit her application for reduced work hours during childcare, the embassy suddenly changed A's work to "warehouse organization." A had been doing administrative work for a long time.
A said, "I got a call from the ambassador's secretary and was told to arrive at the first floor to work starting tomorrow.
"I was told to use the desk," he said, "on the first floor. I asked what I should do about the computer, and they told me to make a table by hand."
Regarding the boxes of documents in the underground storehouse, he said, "The embassy has moved several times, and there are boxes that are 10 to 20 years old in the storehouse.
"The documents were stored in a corner of the building," he said, and "I was asked to organize them." He added, "The task of organizing the documents felt like disciplinary action. Disciplinary action requires a reason and a procedure."
However, when I asked about it, there was no response," she added. A submitted documents for reduced working hours for childcare, but they were not approved. A said, "I submitted the documents to my team leader,
When the team leader reported the matter to the ambassador, he said, 'It's not your jurisdiction, so pass it on to your secretary,' and did not approve it," he added.
However, the embassy said it had "temporarily assigned duties based on operational needs."
She claimed that she had not been disadvantaged in terms of working conditions. She also said that the job transfer took place before she submitted the documents, and that the embassy encouraged her to reduce her working hours and take childcare leave, and allowed her to use as much sick leave as she wanted.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor is currently investigating whether the embassy was obstructing the use of reduced working hours for childcare leave or whether there was any bullying in the workplace.
According to the Work-Family Balance Support Act, employers are allowed to reduce working hours for employees who are raising children under the age of 8 or under the second grade of elementary school.
If an employer applies for a reduced working hour, the employer must discuss the reduced working hours with the employee and agree on a written agreement. If an employer refuses to accept a reduced working hour without a valid reason, the employer may impose a fine of up to 5 million won (approximately 510,000 yen).
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