2nd female prosecutor speaks out on #MeToo
Prosecution criticized over sexual misconduct allegations
By Lee Kyung-min
The prosecution continued to see its reputation plummet Tuesday, following a string of sexual misconduct allegations, after another prosecutor said she was sexually abused by her immediate supervisor 15 years ago. Im Eun-jung, 45, a deputy director-level prosecutor at the Seoul Northern Prosecutors’ Office, appeared at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office to give statements over an allegation that her supervisor at Gyeongju branch of Busan District Prosecutors’ Office kissed her in May 2003. The revelation comes amid a full-blown #MeToo-style campaign among women after Seo Ji-hyun, a 45-year-old prosecutor, said she was groped by Ahn Tae-geun at a funeral in 2010, an allegation under review at the eastern district office led by Cho Hee-jin, 57. Im, who worked at the justice ministry eight years ago, was instrumental in helping Seo raise the issue publicly as she reviewed the complaint Seo had filed with the ministry inspection office soon after the incident.
According to an internet post written by Im, the supervisor took her home after the branch officials had a friendly get-together. She gave him a glass of water as he had asked and walked him to the elevator to say goodbye, and he suddenly kissed her without her consent. Im immediately raised the issue with senior branch officials demanding the supervisor resign, only to be ignored. Im said her fellow senior prosecutors told her, “You should just resign. If this gets public, only you will suffer,” a remark that illustrates how a victim gets blamed and subject to undue consequences, a “common” treatment prevalent even among the so-called “elite” in Korea.
Im said she told Cho _ the senior prosecutor who is now leading the investigation into Seo’s harassment complaint _ about the offence during a women prosecutors’ group training in 2005, but Cho, the then-leader in the group, failed to seek any redress measures, a reason Im claims Cho is disqualified to lead the ongoing probe. Im said she remained highly doubtful whether the investigation would be thoroughly conducted.
Im earlier alleged that her consultations with Seo in 2010 was thwarted by her then-supervisor, a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker Rep. Choi Gyo-il of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, who scolded her in person for trying to “stir controversy” over what should be kept secret. Choi said, according to Im, “Why are you trying to make an issue when the victim keeps quiet?” Choi denied the allegation, saying he would consider filing a suit against Im for defamation.
Meanwhile, the Cho-led team continues to question justice ministry officials over suspected undue personnel measures imposed on Seo, as she claimed. Seo said she received a warning from the prosecutor general following poor evaluations in a work performance review when she worked at a branch in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in April 2014. The relocation to the Tongyeong branch, South Gyeongsang Province a year after that, she claims, was punishment given the remote branch is where prosecutors many years her junior typically worked. The team also heard from prosecutors who worked with Seo and Ahn that Ahn was furious over Seo publicly raising the issue within the prosecution soon after the incident. Ahn has managed to avoid prosecution as the statute of limitations on sex crimes has expired. However, he could face abuse of power charges if the team substantiates allegations that he unduly meddled in the personnel measures involving Seo between 2014 and 2015 as the seven-year statute has yet to expire.