[2023 National Audit] 53 Public Officials Committed Crimes on Trains... 18 Prosecuted for Sexual Offenses

It has been revealed that about 50 public officials have been investigated for criminal acts on trains over the past five years. Among them, 18, or one in three, were prosecuted for sex crimes such as illegal filming or sexual harassment.

According to data submitted on the 18th by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Railroad Special Judicial Police to Kim Ju-young, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Gimpo-si Gap), a total of 53 public officials were investigated by the special judicial police for crimes on trains in the past five years.

On the 15th, during the temporary strike by the National Railroad Workers' Union, a KTX train is stopped near the 수도권 Railroad Vehicle Maintenance Unit in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

Among them, 18 were prosecuted for sex crimes, with teachers accounting for the largest number at three. One was prosecuted last February for sexually harassing a child or adolescent sitting next to them on the Airport Railroad. Another was brought to trial in June this year for sexually harassing an intoxicated victim on an electric train. A teacher was also caught and prosecuted for illegal filming inside a restroom.

There was also a court official prosecuted for a sex crime. A public official belonging to a certain district court was prosecuted in June 2019 for sexually harassing a passenger sitting next to them on a high-speed train, was fined 800,000 won, and received a three-month pay cut as disciplinary action from the court.

Last year, a public official from the Ministry of Justice was prosecuted for secretly filming a victim's body parts with a mobile phone. In August, a director-level official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who was booked for exposing parts of their body while intoxicated on a high-speed train, is currently on trial.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out, "Not only the fact that there are so many investigations and prosecutions of public officials serving the people and public interest, but also the lax disciplinary and management practices are undermining public trust in the public service."

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