[2020 National Audit] "KEPCO's One-Month Suspension for Employee Caught on Hidden Camera Is a 'Light Punishment'"

No Harm Done... Jangseop Lee: "An Excuse-Free Case of 'Protecting One's Own'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is facing controversy for imposing a 'light punishment' despite identifying illegal filming crimes through internal reports, citing that no employees of the company were victims.

On the 11th, Lee Jang-seop of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee, confirmed this fact after analyzing data submitted by KEPCO.

Lee criticized KEPCO for hastily protecting its own employees with the incomprehensible reason that the victims were not company employees, rather than conducting a proper investigation and providing relief to the victims.

According to Lee's office, in July 2018, KEPCO received a public interest report through an internal anonymous reporting channel and discovered 154 so-called 'molka' (illegal hidden camera) videos and photo files on employee A's computer cloud.

Employee A was found to have possessed illegal filming materials capturing the body parts of unspecified women in public places, including the cafeteria, from March 20, 2018, to July 29 of the same year after joining the company.

However, KEPCO only began investigating the matter three months after the report was received, and the disciplinary committee was convened three months later in February 2019. Lee's office stated that the actual investigation took only eight days, and after wasting six months without any particular reason, KEPCO's punishment for the molka crime was a one-month suspension. At that time, none of the six disciplinary committee members were women.

KEPCO initially planned to report the case to investigative authorities due to the large number of videos.

However, they concluded with a one-month suspension instead of a report, citing reasons such as ▲ the unauthorized filming was a personal deviation unrelated to company work ▲ no damage to the company or employees was confirmed ▲ the employee regretted the act before the investigation began and stopped unauthorized filming, and deleted all files after the investigation started.

Furthermore, considering the employee's usual diligent work attitude, the real name was decided not to be disclosed.

According to Article 14 (Filming Using Cameras, etc.) of the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, such illegal filming crimes can be punished by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 10 million won.

As social interest and awareness of the seriousness of illegal filming increase, punishments are also being strengthened.

Recently, a professor at a national university who took molka was sentenced to two years of probation and had his contract terminated by the university, and a comedian who installed a molka in a broadcasting station restroom was sentenced to five years in prison.

Lee said, "Awareness of the seriousness of illegal filming is growing due to incidents like the Nth Room case, and as a serious crime that destroys an individual's dignity, it must be strictly punished according to law and procedure. KEPCO's overlooking of illegal filming crimes by its employees for incomprehensible reasons is not only behind the times but also an inexcusable act of protecting their own."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.