A Public Official Who Sent a "I Love You, Sorry" Text to an Employee... "Disciplinary Action Appropriate"

Chuncheon District Court. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jumi Lee] A court ruling has upheld the disciplinary reprimand given to an education official who repeatedly sent inappropriate messages to a department employee and pressured them to transfer to another workplace.

On the 28th, the Chuncheon District Court Administrative Division 1 (Presiding Judge Yoon Jung-in) announced that it ruled against education official A in a lawsuit filed against the Gangwon Provincial Office of Education seeking to cancel the reprimand.

A, who was in charge of general affairs at an education support office in Gangwon Province, suggested in October 2019 that employee B submit a transfer request to a kindergarten or elementary school with a different evaluation and performance unit from the education office.

After B replied, "I will think about it," B submitted the transfer request a week later but canceled it about a month afterward. A then demanded that B reconsider the cancellation.

In November of the same year, after an administrative audit closing dinner, A sent B about ten text messages including phrases such as "Answer when I call, don’t make XX," and "Inma" (a Korean slang term). Among the messages sent to B, who was married at the time, were also "I love you, sorry."

When B accidentally sent a message saying "Captain A, I’m holding back something" to A via the work messenger, A became angry at the nickname "Captain A" and separately summoned the general affairs staff to reprimand them.

Due to these incidents, A received a one-month salary reduction in March 2020 but filed an appeal, which reduced the penalty to a reprimand. Dissatisfied with this, A filed a lawsuit.

A claimed, "I encouraged the transfer request thinking it would take care of both employees: employee C, who had worked hard for two years in an undesirable department and was moving to B’s position to work and be promoted, and B, who was not eligible for promotion and was being transferred to a different evaluation unit."

A also admitted to sending inappropriate messages to B while intoxicated after the dinner but argued that since A publicly apologized the next day and B accepted the apology, it should not be grounds for disciplinary action.

The court stated, "Submitting a transfer request should be based on the individual's voluntary intention, and the degree of coercion here does not appear to be a mere suggestion," adding, "Encouraging B to apply for transfer to promote C cannot be considered a legitimate purpose."

Furthermore, the court said, "Sending inappropriate messages late at night to B, a married female employee, is an act that damages the dignity expected of a public official. Even if the apology was accepted, this cannot be viewed differently," and added, "It is difficult to see the reprimand as an abuse or deviation of discretion by the disciplinary authority."

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