Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Air Force under fire for mishandling of sexual violence case
By Bahk Eun-ji
The military has launched a full-scale investigation into the allegation that a master sergeant of the Republic of Korea Air Force killed herself after the Air Force tried to cover up her accusation of sexual harassment made against a male colleague.
Defense Minister Suh Wook attends a session of the National Assembly National Defense Committee in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
According to the bereaved family of the master sergeant and multiple media reports, Tuesday, the woman, stationed at a unit in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, was allegedly sexually harassed by her colleague, identified only by his surname Jang, inside a car on their way back to the base from a private dinner she was forced to attend in early March.
She reported the incident to her senior officers the next day, but they allegedly tried to cover it up and persuade her to reconcile with Jang, instead of taking adequate measures to protect her such as separating her from the alleged perpetrator. They even allegedly contacted her boyfriend, a fellow military service member she later married, to ask him to persuade her to drop the accusation.
The victim took two months of leave, and requested to be transferred to another base after being diagnosed with anxiety disorder and insomnia. She returned to the unit at the end of her leave May 18 but was found dead in her residence inside the base four days later.
She killed herself on the day she registered her marriage with her boyfriend, and she filmed her suicide with her mobile phone, according to the family. She also left messages on her phone accusing Jang of inflicting permanent harm on her and blaming him for her death.
The bereaved family members have postponed her funeral and are calling for a strict investigation into the military's “systematic cover-up attempt.”
“Why did my daughter have to record a video of her death? Please reveal my beloved daughter's unjust death,” her father wrote in a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website.
“Sexual violence in the military continues, but the reality that victims have to suffer more than the perpetrators without a proper investigation makes us more devastated.”
The petition has garnered nearly 200,000 signatures in the first day since its posting Monday.
As the controversy grew, on Tuesday Defense Minister Suh Wook ordered a thorough investigation of the sexual harassment allegation and the attempts to cover up her case.
For this, the military is organizing a joint team with investigators from the Air Force, military police and military prosecution.
“We feel deeply responsible for our military's failure to protect the victim from sexual violence,” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Boo Seung-chan said in a briefing. “We also offer our deepest condolences to the bereaved family.”
*If you need expert help due to depression or other difficult concerns, you can receive 24-hour counseling at the Korean Suicide Prevention Center's hotline at 1393.