High Court Reverses Ruling on Sexual Harassment
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
A high court convicted a man who caressed a woman’s thigh on charges of sexual harassment, overturning a lower court’s ruling.
The court in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, slapped a 1 million won ($1,000) fine on the 43-year-old man. He was accused of stroking the female restaurant owner’s thigh several times despite her protest while she was talking with another customer at the restaurant.
He was indicted on charges of sexual harassment last year. The accused claimed that he and the restaurant owner knew each other well enough to lend each other money and he had no intention to sexually harass her.
A lower court had originally ruled the man not guilty, alleging the assault was not strong enough to keep her from resisting him. The higher court, however, said in the verdict that ``no matter how strong or weak it is, if a female felt the sense of shame, it constitutes sexual harassment.’’