"Female Student's Clothing Criticized, Then Holding Hands..." University Professor Dismissed for Sexual Misconduct, Reoffends After Reinstatement

A university professor who was dismissed for sexual harassment, sexist remarks, and student assault was reinstated after receiving a reduced penalty from the Ministry of Education, but was dismissed again following new allegations of sexual harassment. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] A university professor who was dismissed for continuous sexual harassment, sexist remarks, and student assault was reinstated after receiving a reduced penalty from the Ministry of Education, but was dismissed again following new allegations of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, students have raised their voices in criticism, saying that the university only followed mechanical administrative procedures during the two dismissal processes.

According to Incheon National University on the 7th, the university confirmed the facts regarding Professor A's sexual harassment allegations reported to the campus Human Rights Center and held a faculty disciplinary committee meeting, which resolved to dismiss Professor A, who belongs to a certain graduate school.

Earlier, a task force composed of Incheon National University students repeatedly exposed Professor A's sexual misconduct.

The task force claimed, "During the 2017 festival, Professor A told a female student, 'You dress like a yangX,' then held the victim's hand and danced with her."

They also pointed out that he continuously made sexually harassing and sexist remarks, such as asking students who were in a romantic relationship, "Did you sleep together?" and saying, "When a woman has a 'ㅂ' batchim (twenty-seven, twenty-eight), it's over."

In response, an Incheon National University official stated, "New past victim cases related to Professor A have been confirmed," and added, "We have held another disciplinary committee meeting according to procedures."

Professor A had already been dismissed once in 2019 due to sexual misconduct and student assault controversies. It was confirmed that from 2014 to 2019, he repeatedly made sexually harassing and sexist remarks during classes, and from 2016 to 2017, while supervising exams, he assaulted students by hitting their heads, claiming they were cheating.

However, in April of last year, the faculty appeal committee reduced his disciplinary level from dismissal to a three-month suspension after an appeal hearing. He then went through reinstatement procedures and conducted online graduate school classes in the second semester of the 2020 academic year.

In response, the task force said, "Professor A's case is a clear example of power-based sexual crime," and demanded that the university establish a department for preventive measures and clearly separate perpetrators and victims.

They added, "When Professor A was first dismissed, we demanded active countermeasures, but no improvements were made," and criticized, "The university should show results of actions, not just active consideration."

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