KB Kookmin Bank has come under fire for holding a grueling 100 kilometer march for its recruits and reportedly giving out oral contraceptive pills to its new female employees -- a large portion of which are under 30 -- during the training period.

According to the news report from a local daily, the commercial bank gave the pills to the employees to control their menstrual cycles before they go on a 100-kilometer overnight march. The bank has traditionally carried out the marching event every year to boost the morale of the rookies, the report said.

 

The bank explained that it provided the pill for the health of female employees who are on their period, as they could feel relatively more exhausted than their male co-workers during the harsh schedule. The employees were not forced to take the pill, the bank added.

The act, however, caused a public backlash after it was revealed on Monday.

A Facebook post about the news soon garnered over 2,500 reactions and 300 comments, most of them criticizing the bank’s decision. A comment which read, “The female employees would have felt devastated and distressed (after going through the training session),” received 320 likes, while others blamed the inefficiency of the marching.

A tweet which said “Please stop the march (during the training session)” and linked to the news article, was retweeted nearly 700 times.

There were also some comments from people taking the opposite view.

“They didn’t force the employees to take the pill. Why is it a problem?” a Facebook user said. Another comment which read, “I think the bank was being considerate of the workers,” also got positive feedback from social media users.

By Park Ju-young (jupark@heraldcorp.com)