SNU professor resigns amid sexual harassment accusations

By Lee Kyung-min

Kang Seok-jin

Seoul National University (SNU) Professor Kang Seok-jin has offered his resignation following allegations that he sexually abused dozens of his students for years, a school official said Thursday.

“Kang has tendered his resignation,” the official said, without giving further details.

Kang was recently questioned by the prosecution about his alleged molesting of a female intern who worked for him during the 2014 International Congress for Mathematicians in August, at which he was one of the speakers.

After the case was reported, 21 other students spoke out claiming they were also sexually harassed by the math professor.

The alleged victims shared their experiences on an online community site and formed a group named “Victims X.”

The group issued a statement Thursday calling for a thorough investigation by the prosecution and criticizing school authorities for their negligence in handling the allegations.

In the statement, they claimed they could not stay silent.

“Kang abused his status as a professor to force students to keep contacting him and expected us to make him happy,” they said.

“He knew that the students couldn’t say no to his demands, since their future hinged on the grade he gave them.”

The victims alleged that Kang would usually ask them to dinner, during which he would touch them inappropriately. They also said he would call them to his office, and touch them there.

He apparently kept sending text messages and reacted angrily when rejected saying things such as, “How dare you? I cared for you first, and this is how you repay me?”

“So far, we couldn’t come forward, because we were afraid that he might fail us in tests,” the students said.

They also criticized the SNU Human Rights Center for its reluctance to conduct an investigation.

“The center asked us to publicly identify ourselves first, an insensitive demand given that it is us who would be stigmatized by society,” a student said.

When asked to verify the students’ claims, the center declined to comment.