A Female Public Official Sexually Assaulted by Her Superior for 3 Years, Wife Commits Secondary Harm

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Jucheol In] After it was belatedly revealed that a female public official in Busan was sexually harassed and assaulted for years by a male superior in his 50s, voices demanding a thorough investigation of the facts are growing louder.

The Busan branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union issued a statement on the 9th, urging, “Busan City and Nam-gu Office must conduct a thorough investigation and establish measures to prevent secondary harm.”

According to the union, public official A from Nam-gu Office suffered sexual harassment and assault from his superior B for more than two years, from August 2018 to August last year.

In August 2018, B started working in the same department as A. On the day B was assigned, after a company dinner, B sexually harassed A while they were taking a taxi home. Subsequently, B also attempted sexual assault while A was heavily intoxicated.

Additionally, B took A to a secluded, rarely frequented place and committed sexual crimes, repeatedly threatening, “If you reject me, it’s no problem to make sure you can’t work as a public official.”

Even after A was transferred to another department within the district office in July 2019, B continued to harass A by slapping A’s cheek and verbally and physically abusing him.

Due to ongoing abuse, in August last year, A approached C, B’s wife and a Nam-gu Office employee, to inform her of B’s misconduct. However, C instead committed secondary harm by accusing A of having an affair and visiting A’s home to shame him in front of neighbors.

This secondary harm by B and C continued for six months. Eventually, in April this year, A filed a complaint with the police accusing B of workplace sexual assault and other charges, and was transferred to another city with a demotion.

However, even after the transfer, harassment continued as B threatened to come to A’s new workplace. In May, A filed a grievance complaint with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Busan City, and Nam-gu Office.

In response, the Busan City Audit Committee’s Sexual Harassment and Violence Eradication Task Force recognized the seriousness of the case and began an investigation. The union’s Gender Equality Committee also requested an explanation from B last month for the investigation, but B reportedly did not respond.

However, the police reportedly forwarded only one of the ten charges A filed?special assault?to the prosecution, and the victim’s side plans to file an objection.

The union stated, “Nam-gu Office only suspended B from his position and showed a passive attitude toward investigating the facts and preventing secondary harm and recurrence,” adding, “C also directly contacted the victim’s superior at the new workplace to request cautionary measures.”

They continued, “This case reflects the widespread problem of sexual misconduct in the public sector, the organizational culture that condones it, and the lack of gender sensitivity,” urging, “Nam-gu Office must take drastic measures to establish sexual crime prevention policies.”

They also called on Busan City, saying, “The investigation should not be limited to the relationship between the victim and perpetrator but should also broadly investigate Nam-gu Office’s response based on victim-centered principles.”

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