Military under fire again for mishandling sexual harassment case
The flag of the Ministry of National Defense, left, and Taegeukgi, the national flag of the Republic of Korea, are seen at the main building of the ministry complex in Seoul's Yongsan District in this file photo. Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
The military has again come under fire for its mishandling of a sexual harassment case, as it has been found that a victim of sexual violence in the Army attempted to kill herself.
It is the third time that a sexual harassment victim in the military has taken their own life or attempted to do so, following one each at the Air Force and the Navy.
These cases show the military's systemic errors in dealing with sex crimes, considering similarities in the three cases. In all three cases, the military authorities failed to separate the victims and the alleged perpetrators, making them continue working together after the harassment complaint was made, and all three victims suffered from secondary harm and retaliation.
According to the Army and the victim's side, a staff sergeant of the Republic of Korea Army allegedly suffered persistent and repetitive sexual harassment and was stalked by a sergeant first class for months after she turned down his advances when she joined the Army in April last year.
The victim reported the case to a superior of her unit in August last year, but they did not deal with the case properly, as they only took disciplinary action against him without criminal punishment. The perpetrator was dismissed from the Army in early September in a disciplinary action.
The victim's family claims the Army mishandled the case.
“During the unit's investigation into the case, her superiors tried to cover it up by telling her not to report it. They also failed to take proper measures such as separating her from the perpetrator after she reported it to the unit,” her sister said in a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website posted on Aug. 20.
“After that, there had been various acts of secondary harm done to her and she ultimately chose to transfer to another unit, but the situation did not improve.”
The petitioner said the victim has since been going through serious mental distress for over a year and has been hospitalized after attempting suicide many times.
The Army said it is investigating whether the officials of the unit dealt with the case properly.
It was the third incident of military sexual violence in recent months.
On May 22, a female Air Force master sergeant killed herself after the Air Force tried to cover up her sexual harassment complaint about a male colleague. The military has since launched a full-scale investigation into the case and pledged to improve the system for dealing with sex crimes, but criticism only grew as similar cases have been reported even after the incident.
On Aug. 12, a female chief petty officer of the Navy was found dead in an apparent suicide after reporting that she had been sexually harassed by a male senior chief petty officer.