Seoul City Launches 'Seoul 2.0' Following 'Sexual Violence Zero Seoul 1.0'... Strengthening Victim Support System

Professional investigators and external experts conduct independent investigations to ensure fairness in handling workplace sexual misconduct cases
Active support through counseling, medical, and legal specialized institutions to help victims focus on daily recovery, full coverage of medical expenses provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Based on the achievements of 'Sexual Violence Zero (Zero) Seoul 1.0,' the Seoul Metropolitan Government is now fully promoting 'Sexual Violence Zero Seoul 2.0' and embarking on creating a 'Seoul free of power-based sexual crimes, where members can work with peace of mind.'

According to Seoul City on the 23rd, through 'Sexual Violence Zero Seoul 1.0,' the city has completed the hiring of ‘professional investigators’ for fair handling of workplace sexual misconduct cases to prevent internal influence driven by favoritism, implemented the ‘external expert investigation system for cases involving high-ranking officials of grade 3 or above,’ and established a ‘specialized task force for sexual harassment and sexual violence.’

Professional investigators are positions responsible for investigating workplace sexual misconduct cases; two experts were hired, and the entire process requires approval by a single person to guarantee independence. In particular, for power-based cases involving high-ranking officials of grade 3 or above, considering the perpetrator’s influence within the organization, an external expert with no conflicts of interest handles the case independently from initial consultation to investigation and reporting of results through the ‘external expert investigation system,’ ensuring fairness.

Additionally, the Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Deliberation Committee was elevated to a ‘dedicated special task force’ composed entirely of external experts completely independent from the mayor, thereby securing trust and fairness in handling power-based sexual misconduct cases. Furthermore, the city promoted 100% completion of employee violence prevention education to enhance prevention of sexual harassment and sexual violence and to raise employees’ gender sensitivity. Special training for managers was conducted to improve their roles in case of incidents and to foster communication skills for creating a gender-equal organizational culture, while the annual completion status of violence prevention education for high-ranking officials was disclosed to citizens to increase accountability.

Building on these achievements, Seoul City will significantly strengthen victim support in 'Sexual Violence Zero Seoul 2.0.' The city will provide tailored support to victims through counseling, medical, and legal professional institutions, and directly cover related costs to allow victims to focus solely on recovery, improving the support system to be more victim-friendly.

Moreover, medical expenses will be supported until the victim recovers, and litigation representation services will also be directly provided to actively assist victims. The city plans to take a responsible role in ensuring victims’ swift and stable return to daily life by proactively responding to victims’ voices through continuous case management after their return to work.

To more effectively prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence within organizations, efforts will be made to establish a gender-equal organizational culture. First, to improve the vertical and authoritarian organizational culture, which is one of the main causes of workplace sexual harassment and sexual violence, the city will enact and distribute the ‘Gender Equality Organizational Culture Code’ and activate the operation of the gender equality organizational culture advisory group ‘SoHwakheng (Communication Spreading Happiness in Seoul!).’

Seoul City will also work to improve culture and environment reflecting gender stereotypes within the organization. First, it will introduce an open recruitment process for staff in the offices of department heads, bureau chiefs, and directors. Currently, most staff working in these offices are women, raising concerns about the entrenchment of gender stereotypes that scheduling and guest reception are women’s duties. Therefore, offices with two or more staff will adhere to gender-balanced placement as a principle, and open recruitment will be conducted when vacancies occur in offices with a single staff member.

The city will diversify employee violence prevention education to enhance its effectiveness. Customized training will be provided by rank, incorporating actual Seoul City cases to increase the sense of relevance, and participatory events such as true/false quizzes and gender sensitivity and violence prevention sensitivity tests will be expanded to strengthen employees’ awareness of gender equality.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Policy Office, said, “Seoul City is fully promoting 2.0 based on Sexual Violence Zero Seoul 1.0. We plan to do our best to prevent workplace sexual harassment and sexual violence through spreading a gender-equal organizational culture and experiential education. We will also ensure fairness in handling incidents and improve processes so that cases are managed from the victim’s perspective, creating an environment where all employees can work with peace of mind.”

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