ED #MeToo movement at Asiana

Time for corporate world to wake up!

The #MeToo movement against sexual abuse of women has been slow to get to Korea, but that is starting to change after a prosecutor recently went public with claims of sexual harassment. Her allegations have prompted the prosecution to set up a special investigation team.

Now the movement is spreading to the Korean corporate sector, which is notorious for its male dominance and rigid culture. Asiana, one of Korea’s major airliners, has come under fire for allegations that Park Sam-koo, chairman of the Kumho Asiana Group, sexually harassed female employees.

Outside the corporate world, Park has held a good public image as a passionate advocate of the arts. Through the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, he has supported Korea’s rising musicians such as pianists Cho Seong-jin and Son Yeol-eum, among others. That image has been tarnished by latest news reports of inappropriate behavior toward women at the company.

The news reports are based on many posts on “Blind,” an anonymous online community for office workers, which detail various incidences of unwanted physical contact by Park during his regular visits to the Asiana headquarters. Asiana has refuted the allegations, saying that the visits were a part of his on-site management.

The #Metoo movement should be an occasion for the Korean corporate world to wake up and finally realize that it is no longer tolerable for those in powerful positions to abuse and degrade women.