By Kim Hyun-bin
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism jointly announced a new set of policy proposals to better prevent sexual harassment in the entertainment and arts sectors, Tuesday.
The proposal follows a 100-day internal investigation looking into sexual harassment or “#MeToo” cases.
The commission revealed four policy proposals including establishing an organization that focuses exclusively on preventing sexual harassment and devising additional measures to protect artists' rights.
The culture ministry added it will operate its own hotline for sexual harassment prevention.
“There were a lot of “#MeToo” cases in culture and arts, but there are still many women who feel they have been sexually abused,” lead investigator Cho Young-sun said.
The internal investigation utilized a sexual harassment and abuse hotline operated by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, to gather reports from people involved in the culture and arts circles. They received 175 complaints but only 36 requested an investigation.
“Eleven cases have been resolved, nine cases had exceeded the statute of limitations and 11 cases were reported by third parties, which are difficult to prove,” Cho said.
The commission plans to look further into the five other cases, which include a university professor sexually harassing a student, the sexual harassment of a female actress and an alleged rape by a famous songwriter.
The commission also conducted a survey of 4,380 people comprised of representatives from 24 cultural organizations and university students to come up with better preventive measures.
Out of the 2,478 female respondents, 57 percent of them have experienced sexual harassment. By profession the highest rates were in acting and entertainment, accounting for 52.4 percent and 52 percent respectively.
More than half of the respondents said the industry lacks awareness of sexual harassment and pointed out the atmosphere in entertainment needs to change in order to reduce sexual harassment.