University Administrative Director Accused of Employee Harassment Receives Suspended Prison Sentence in First Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A university administrative officer who was prosecuted for sexually harassing an employee under the pretext of golf lessons was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

According to the court on the 6th, Judge Park Hyerim of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 13 recently sentenced A (59, male), who was indicted for violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (sexual harassment by abuse of authority at work), to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment program and 200 hours of community service.

Earlier, A was prosecuted on charges of sexually harassing the victim, an employee, eight times by abusing his authority at work while working as an administrative officer at a university in Seoul in April last year. He is accused of touching the victim’s body or pressing specific body parts closely under the pretext of teaching golf in his office.

In court, A’s side strongly denied the charges. They argued, "It is true that he guided the golf posture, but he asked for consent during physical contact for that purpose," and "It lasted only 5 to 10 minutes, and most corrections were made verbally."

The first trial found most of A’s charges guilty. Judge Park stated, "The victim testified specifically and consistently about the circumstances and details of the harassment," and "Considering the conversation where the victim said, ‘It’s very uncomfortable during golf practice,’ and the defendant replied, ‘Sorry, sorry, I will be careful. Mistakes should be corrected,’ it is difficult to see that the victim fabricated false facts for false accusation. Other evidence also sufficiently proves that the victim was sexually harassed."

Judge Park added, "The defendant abused his position to sexually harass the victim multiple times. The nature of the crime and the circumstances are serious, and the sexual discomfort felt by the victim is considerable." Consideration was also given to the fact that A has not shown remorse and has no prior convictions of the same kind.

Both the prosecution and A appealed the first trial verdict. It is known that A has been suspended from his position at the university.

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