Dongbu Daewoo sued for discrimination in UK office

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics on Friday was mired in an alleged gender and racial discrimination controversy at its UK branch after a female manger claimed that she was demoted for failing to bow to her boss.

Misook McDonald, a 43-year-old in Reading, Berkshire, sued the electronics sales company for discriminating her based on age, race and gender, the UK news outlets reported Thursday.

The company’s head office in Seoul said Friday that it was aware of the case involving its UK office.

“What it has been perceived so far is her unilateral argument. Everything will be revealed in the hearing,” a company official told The Korea Herald.

She was demoted to secretarial duties after she had a confrontation with her male boss over not bowing to him at the start and end of each working day.

When she challenged her boss about bringing coffee, he replied, “Isn’t that what female workers should do?” she told a UK employment tribunal.

The boss reportedly denied that he had demanded that she bow to him.

McDonald, who was born to an English father and Korean mother, also claimed that she was stripped of her position because she was not a white British man.

She argued that she had been highly valued in the office as she was the only bilingual Korean and English speaker. McDonald, however, was not a preferred choice after a “better-speaking Korean employee” joined the team, she said, adding that she was not considered ‘pure’ as her father was English. 

The tribunal is currently underway at the UK court.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)