Irvine-based Kia Motors America (KMA) is facing a lawsuit over workplace harassment allegations. The plaintiff’s counsel described the case as one involving a long-time supervisor gaslighting a female subordinate.
Yvonne Yung, a in-house attorney in KMA’s legal department, filed the lawsuit against both the company and John Yoon, who is executive vice president and general counsel, according to the LA County Superior Court. The complaint was filed with the court in September. The plaintiffs have requested a jury trial, alleging a total of 17 counts of misconduct, including intentional harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
The plaintiff, Yung, a Chinese-American lawyer, joined KMA in 2004 as a litigation counsel. In her complaint, Yung described her work life as “the TV show ‘ER,’ where there is a constant stream of emergencies.” The complaint alleges that KMA required Yung to work between 3,000 to 4,000 hours annually for over 17 years. A typical work year is 2,080 hours at a 40-hour work week.
The lawsuit cites John Yoon, executive vice president and general counsel, as a primary contributor to the hostile work environment. “Yoon ran the organization as an executive boot camp, telling Yung that she could be KMA’s next general counsel,” the complaint alleges. “It led to Yung being subjected to abuse by his supervisor, much like the abuse experienced by victims of domestic violence.”
Spanning nearly 100 pages, the complaint chronologically details almost 20 years of workplace incidents throughout Yung’s career.
One detailed incident in the complaint specifically involves Yoon, capturing the nuances of their conversations.
Yoon instructed Yung to watch the movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ repeatedly “instructing Yung to watch the movie over again until she becomes ‘Miranda Priestly,’ the villain in the movie,” the plaintiffs claimed, adding, “Yoon repeatedly told Yung that he has to be ‘Santa Claus’ in the department and that she has to be ‘the bad person’.”
The complaint further alleges that Yung faced verbal abuse if she did not answer calls promptly “Yung had to answer the phone immediately or return the call within two minutes even if she was in a meeting or the restroom,” the complaint states, adding, “Yung suffered from extreme anxiety, even when she went to use the restroom because she was afraid of being called.”
The plaintiff contends that Yoon portrayed his behavior as “mentoring” and “good for her career,” while she perceives it as deceptive and malicious abuse.
Transcriptions in the complaint detail Yoon’s conversations about his family life, art-collecting hobbies, vacation plans, favorite alcoholic beverages, and women’s issues, to which Yung was allegedly compelled to listen.
“Yoon also said that he wanted to work as general counsel for another company or in a senior position at Korean supermarket brands if he left KMA,” the plaintiffs said in their complaint. Yoon also told Yung that it was all “part of the succession plan”, the lawsuit cited.
The complaint further alleges that Yung was tasked with managing protocols for a KMA dignitary, although unrelated to her job, because of Yoon’s instructions. The complaint states that she had to: plan with staff to ensure that the dignitary did not have to wait in line to renew his passport at the Consulate General in LA; plan to ensure that the dignitary did not have to wait in line at Los Angeles International Airport; contact the hotel to ensure that the dignitary’s cheese plate was at the right temperature; coordinate with the hotel to ensure that only the dignitary’s preferred bottled water was in the room.
As a result of the alleged stress, Yung sought medical attention from a neurologist. “Despite Yung continued to receive outstanding job evaluations, the hostile work environment eventually caused her to suffer physical and mental distress,” said Karen Jung, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case. “KMA subsequently offered her a position at a lower level than her original position, which constituted a ‘constructive termination,’ which practically means firing her.”
“We believe the plaintiff’s allegations are unfounded and will respond in our legal defense,” said James Bell, KMA media relations manager.
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
