By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
It's common in Korean drinking bouts that male and female drinkers gulp glasses of alcohol while tightly linking their arms to help ``elevate moods.''
But the nation's top court said forcing the time-honored ``love shot'' constitutes sexual harassment.
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a construction company owner identified as Koo, 48, must pay a 3 million won ($3,000) fine, upholding a lower court's decision.
The businessman was indicted without physical detention in August 2005 on charges of harassing two waitresses at a golf club's restaurant in South Gyeongsang Province.
In the ruling, the court said ``Despite the waitresses' resistance, Koo forced `love shots' on them by utilizing his relationship with the restaurant's owner.''
``Given overall matters concerned with this case ― the waitresses resisted Koo's attempts to hug and caress them before drinking ― we can only conclude his behavior was sexual harassment,'' the court said.
Koo, who bought club membership in 1997, has frequently played golf there to forge personal ties with government officials and other businessmen, including the country club's owner.
According to a court statement, Koo, visited the restaurant on Aug. 10, 2005 and ordered a waitress identified as Na, 25, to have a love shot with him. When she refused, he threatened her job.
On the same day, he asked another waitress, Kim, 25, to drink a cup of alcohol with the two embraced. When Kim refused, Koo boasted his closeness with the club's owner, saying ``I'm the vice president of this country club. It's fine to drink alcohol while on duty.''
The court said the act was humiliating and against common moral sense, and as such was sexual harassment.