Delayed Reporting of Sexual Harassment: Gender Equality Center Director Says "Thought It Was Not Important"

Minister of National Defense Seo Wook and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Jeong Sang-hwa are attending an emergency urgent inquiry related to the Air Force sexual harassment case at the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The head of the Air Force Gender Equality Center's delayed reporting of a sexual harassment complaint by an Air Force non-commissioned officer to the superior unit, the Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Policy Division, has sparked public outrage after stating the reason was "because I thought it was not important."

On the 10th, during an emergency inquiry by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Lee Gap-sook, head of the Air Force Gender Equality Center, responded to a question from Song Ki-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, about why the related information was not reported to the Ministry of National Defense at the early stage of the incident, saying, "I was unfamiliar with the guidelines. I thought it was not important...".

The Air Force Gender Equality Center became aware of the sexual harassment victimization of a female non-commissioned officer three days later, on March 5. During the victim investigation conducted at that time, a legal officer from the Air Force Headquarters Legal Office, assigned as a sexual violence dedicated investigator, directly attended.

However, it was confirmed that the center only reported the victim complaint to the Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Policy Division on April 6, a month later, which caused controversy.

Moreover, the report was submitted in the form of a 'Monthly Status Report,' which did not provide any details about the victim or the incident. This background appears to have contributed to the Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Policy Division's failure to notify Defense Minister Seo Wook and other related command chains.

Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Jeong Sang-hwa also stated in related inquiries, "It has been confirmed that the Gender Equality Center did not follow the reporting procedures." Representative Song pointed out that according to the '2021 Ministry of National Defense Sexual Violence Prevention Activity Guidelines,' in cases involving non-commissioned officers or higher, each military branch's Gender Equality Center is required to report to the Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Division, emphasizing, "Sexual violence cases, even small ones, are very important incidents and serious crimes."

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