[2020 National Audit] Public Officials' Sexual Crimes Triple in 10 Years... Most Receive Lenient Punishments

Yang Gi-dae, Democratic Party Lawmaker, "We Must Eliminate Lenient Punishments"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The number of sexual crime cases involving national public officials has tripled over the past decade.

According to the "Number and Rate of Sexual Crimes by National Public Officials in the Last 10 Years" submitted by the Ministry of Personnel Management to Yang Gi-dae, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the rate of sexual crimes increased sharply from 83 cases (0.01%) in 2010 to 242 cases (0.04%) last year.

As of last year, sexual violence accounted for the highest number with 124 cases, followed by sexual harassment (106 cases) and prostitution (12 cases).

Disciplinary actions against public officials involved in sexual misconduct included dismissal (82 cases), suspension (58 cases), reprimand (39 cases), pay reduction (36 cases), and removal from office (15 cases). There were only 14 cases of reprimand for sexual violence and 4 cases for prostitution.

Representative Yang emphasized, "Although awareness of sexual crimes has recently increased, the public official community does not seem to reflect this. We must establish a thorough plan to eradicate sexual crimes by eliminating lenient punishments and implementing measures such as evaluating gender equality sensitivity from the recruitment stage."

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