Family of deceased South Korean university janitor rejects school-led probe


South Korea’s Confederation of Trade Unions said a woman who died on the campus of Seoul National University was bullIed on the job. File Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE


July 15 (UPI) -- The family of a South Korean janitor who died during her shift on the campus of Seoul National University said they do not want the school's human rights center to lead an investigation into her death, citing the school's abusive labor practices.

The statement comes after a local network reported the woman was forced to collect garbage at a multi-story campus dormitory building without an elevator amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said Thursday that the family of the unidentified woman rejects Seoul National University's involvement into her death, News 1 reported.

Family members told the South Korean news service that officials who accused them of "playing victim" had been appointed to investigate. One official, Koo Min-gyo, dean of students, resigned Monday, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun.

The woman, reportedly in her 50s, was found dead in a staff rest area June 26.

KCTU said last week during a rally that the victim was subjected to "workplace bullying, military-style work orders" and a heavy workload, according to the Korea Times.

The woman's supervisor forced her and other janitors to take written tests to quiz them on the buildings where they worked, the group said.

"He then publicized each employee's results and publicly shamed them," KCTU said.

Local news network JTBC reported Wednesday that surveillance camera footage from the dormitory shows the woman climbing up and down the building, carrying out dozens of 100-liter garbage bags filled with trash.

KCTU has said garbage at the dormitory grew exponentially during the pandemic, as students avoided leaving their rooms and ordered food. The woman may have carried out a ton of trash in the past year while working alone, according to local estimates.

The woman's husband told JTBC that he found her collapsed on a blanket on the floor.

"How hard it must have been," he said. "There was an uneaten cup of ramen noodles next to her."