Broadcast Executive Who Fired Producer Handling 'Sexual Harassment Victim' Case... Supreme Court Rules "Illegal Act"

Broadcast station officials who made sexually harassing remarks to a trainee producer (PD) and then notified her of dismissal when she raised objections were ordered to pay damages.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) announced on the 24th that it upheld the lower court ruling in a damages lawsuit filed by Ms. A against Mr. B, the head of the local broadcasting station's news production department, and former executives Mr. C and Mr. D. The court ruled that Mr. B and Mr. C jointly pay 15 million won, Mr. B separately pay 3 million won, and Mr. D pay 5 million won.

In September 2016, Mr. B made sexually harassing remarks in front of trainee PD Ms. A, saying things like "Women who sit in study rooms for a long time have unattractive buttocks" and "Women who play the piano have big buttocks." He also posted a video showing a half-naked woman in a KakaoTalk group chat.

Ms. A raised the issue of sexual harassment, but Mr. B and other executives excluded her from training and notified her of dismissal, stating that her probation period had ended and she would not be hired.

Both the first and second trials ruled in favor of Ms. A. The Supreme Court also agreed, stating that "this is an illegal act as an unfavorable measure against a worker who suffered sexual harassment in the workplace," and affirmed the lower courts' decisions.

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