"Female Teacher Claims 'Forced Kiss by Student in His 60s'... Principal Says 'Just Start the Class First'"

A petition titled "I was sexually harassed, but appropriate measures have not been taken, so I am posting this out of frustration and anger" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 8th. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] A teacher at a vocational school in Iksan, Jeonbuk, claimed that after being sexually harassed by a male trainee in his 60s, the principal told her, "You two handle the lawsuit yourselves and just get back to class."

On the 8th, a post titled "I was sexually harassed but no appropriate measures have been taken, so I am posting this out of frustration and anger" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition board.

According to the petitioner, she was forcibly kissed by a male trainee in his 60s at the vocational school around 12:45 PM on the 27th of last month. The petitioner claims that five other trainees in the classroom witnessed the incident.

The petitioner explained, "Other students said the man smelled of alcohol and approached him to warn him, but he said he 'had not been drinking,' then suddenly forcibly kissed me and nonchalantly went into the restroom attached to the classroom."

She added, "He often drank alcohol, disrupted classes, and was known among other trainees, teachers, and staff for urinating in public on school grounds," and "He also did not wear a mask during the COVID-19 situation, and a few days ago, I requested the principal to expel the trainee."

The petitioner continued, "My body froze from the sudden horrific sexual harassment, and in a flustered state, I ran to the teachers' office and told three teachers there about the incident," and "Around the end of lunch break, the principal hurried in and said, 'I roughly heard about the sexual assault (harassment),' but then instructed, 'Since the afternoon class is about to start, go back to the classroom.'"

The petitioner said, "I told him I really hated going into the classroom where the perpetrator was and could not go in," but the principal repeated, "'You two can file lawsuits or not, handle it yourselves, and since you are a teacher, you have to get back to class,'" and raised his voice saying, "'If you don’t go in, you won’t be able to continue your teaching career properly, and the school will also suffer,' and 'If you cry like that, I’ll be the bad guy.'"

The petitioner said, "As a new teacher, I was afraid of being fired by the school, so I went into the class," but "I could not make eye contact with the students at all, cried in a corner, called my older sister, and my sister reported it to 112."

The petitioner also claimed to have suffered secondary damage during the police investigation. The principal and the vice principal sent text messages asking, "Which police station?" "Who is the officer in charge?" and "The perpetrator’s son is a police officer," which psychologically intimidated her.

The petitioner appealed, "I am angry and frustrated about being sexually harassed, but the police say about the principal who did not take even minimal victim protection measures, 'The principal did a bad thing, but there is no legal charge, so it is difficult to file a lawsuit,'" and "This is a local community, so I am afraid everything will be handled lightly, and I am afraid of suffering secondary victimization."

The case is under investigation by the Iksan Police Station, and the petitioner is known to have filed a complaint with the Iksan branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

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