Arrest warrants sought for medical students for sexual assault

By Lee Hyo-sik

Police said Tuesday that they asked the court to issue arrest warrants for three male students enrolled at Korea University’s medical school on charges of sexually assaulting a drunken fellow female student during a school trip last month.

An officer at the Seongbuk Police Station in northern Seoul said police decided to seek arrest warrants, given the seriousness of the charge against them. “We would like to take them into custody because they could collaborate on their stories and make it more difficult for us to find out exactly what happened,” the officer said.

According to information made public, the students went on a field trip to Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, on May 21 along with other classmates. At their accommodation the female student drank too much and fell asleep in a separate room.

The three students allegedly followed her into the room, undressed her and touched her body.

They shot the episode with a camera and their cell phones.

The victim later filed reports of sexual harassment to the university’s center for gender equality and the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, sparking a police investigation.

She claimed that they not only touched her but also raped her. She is receiving counseling.

“The perpetrators admitted to touching her and shooting the video and taking photos, but denied the rape accusation. So, we asked the National Forensic Service last week to conduct a physical exam on her and examine her clothes. But it failed to confirm whether the victim was raped or not,” the officer said.

Following the incident, Korea University students and the Young Medical Doctors’ Association have been urging school management to expel the three medical students.

Several university students have staged independent one-man protests at the school’s front gate, holding a placard demanding the school expel the perpetrators.

On Tuesday, an unidentified woman overly exposed held a one-person “SlutWalk” protest in front of Korea University. She was holding a sign that read, “Whatever way a woman dresses, it is not an invitation for sexual assault. Korea University has been protecting only the perpetrators. What has it done to protect the victim.” SlutWalk is an international protest against the belief that any aspect of a woman’s appearance might explain or excuse rape.

Korea University has also been drawing criticism from students and civic groups for the recent reinstatement of a professor previously suspended for sexually harassing a female student last summer.