An IKEA Korea employee ("A") was demoted from an executive-level role to a rank-and-file position after returning from childcare leave, despite an earlier assurance she could keep her original role. When she refused, she was allegedly excluded from her usual reporting lines and told she must choose demotion or resignation, or be reassigned to a store position.

CEO Isabel Pucci allegedly made dismissive remarks about her return to work and reportedly called Korean unions "easy to handle" and Korean employees "stupid but hard to fire." The Anyang Regional Employment and Labour Office has been investigating Pucci since April for suspected violations of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation. IKEA Korea disputes the reporting.