Duksung Women's University professor under sexual harassment probe

By Kim Se-jeong

A Duksung Women’s University professor is being investigated for allegedly sexually harassing a female student, police said Monday.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by the university’s acting President Park Sang-im against the professor, whose name was withheld, according to Dobong Police Station.

During the school’s internal probe, the professor denied the allegations.

According to the police, the professor drank with the student at a bar last year, and after a couple of drinks, attempted to kiss and grope her.

After the incident, the professor kept contacting the student through calls and text messages. She reported the case to school authorities on Dec. 24.

After an investigation, the school ordered the professor to stay away from her and reported the incident to police.

In a statement released Monday, acting president Park wrote, “Based on proof we have collected, I have come to the conclusion that his behavior deserves a police investigation.”

It is unprecedented for a school president to file a complaint against a faculty member over sexual harassment allegations.

“I am deeply sorry this has happened at Duksung Women’s University. My heart goes out to the students who were hurt by the professor,” the president said.

The school said it has found more victims abused by the professor and the president decided to seek a police investigation in order to protect the students.

Duksung’s case comes after recent incidents involving two Seoul National University (SNU) professors.

On Jan. 30, the police detained an SNU dentistry professor on charges of sexually harassing one of his female graduate students. Two months earlier, a professor in mathematics was taken into custody for abusing more than 20 students over a decade. These cases prompted the government to step up efforts to bring the accused before justice and prevent students from being victims.