Why is Korea insensitive to sex crimes?
Rep. Kim Sang-hee, second from left, a member of main opposition Democratic Party (DP), and other female members of the party hold a press conference at the National Assembly, Friday, demanding a thorough investigation of allegations that former presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung sexually assaulted a Korean-American intern at a hotel in Washington D.C. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Former presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jungs sudden fall from grace following a sexual assault allegation reflects the sexism that is still a part of Korean society, experts said Friday.
The chauvinistic, Confucian-steeped society lies behind the die-hard sexism here — when sexually assaulted, victims, including their families, scramble to cover up rather than to actively report it to the police for fear their career would be ruined.
Yoo Mee-sook, a professor at Seoul-based Sookmyung Womens University, noted that the overall atmosphere of society fosters such behavior and sex offenders try to take advantage of it.
Ive seen many children molested by pedophiles, but their parents were reluctant to take legal action against them. These parents believed that the consequences their children would face after disclosing the ordeal would be harsh and will do a disservice to their future. So many of them tried to cover it up, she said.
Professor Yoo said the covering-up of sexual assaults is more prevalent among female adults.
Victims prefer remaining silent.
Some molesters tried to benefit from such a mentality. This explains why government efforts to tackle sexual assaults against women have made little progress.
Kim Jung-sook, chairwoman of Korean National Council of Women, said Yoons inappropriate demeanor seemed to be the combined result of his personal problems and societys loose standards for sexual morality.
The nation has adopted a set of measures to fight sexual assault against women, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Despite this, I think our society still has a long way to go, in terms of gender equality, said Kim. The sexual assault allegation involving Yoon seems to reflect where Korea is today regarding the status of women. One such example is that men still buy sexual services, although it is illegal.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family placed a top priority on ending violence against women.
During a policy briefing to President Park Geun-hye held earlier this year, Minister Cho Yoon-sun promised to launch an awareness campaign, impose harsher punishment on sex offenders and expand the centers helping victims of sexual assaults from 30 to 60 by 2017.
Yoon allegedly sexually assaulted a Korean-American intern, who was assisting the Korean delegation, in a hotel room in Washington D.C.
On the Internet, bloggers lashed out at Yoon for hurting the image of the nation as the scandal erupted amid President Parks trip to the United States.