earticle

영어

Customer harassment is a serious social issue that infringes on workers’ human dignity and health rights while undermining consumer culture and trust in the service industry. This study views customer harassment as an intersectional issue between labor protection and consumer responsibility, and compares the legal and policy responses of Korea and Japan. The results indicate that Korea has institutionalized the protection of customer service workers mainly through the Industrial Safety and Health Act, but its approach remains limited to occupational safety regulations with insufficient consumer policy linkage and social consensus. In contrast, Japan has defined “customer harassment (kasuhara)” more explicitly and established a comprehensive response system through cooperation among the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Consumer Affairs Agency, and local governments. Based on these findings, the study proposes four policy directions for Korea: (1) clarifying the legal definition and classification of customer harassment, (2) linking labor and consumer policies to promote responsible consumer behavior, (3) strengthening workplace support and prevention systems, and (4) shifting toward proactive, preventive management through education and public campaigns. These efforts will enable Korea’s response framework to evolve into an inclusive system that integrates labor, consumer, and community perspectives, ultimately fostering a safer and more sustainable service society that balances worker dignity with consumer responsibility.