Public anger growing over chronic sexual harassment in Taebaek police force

This screenshot shows a petition posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling on authorities to expel 16 male police officers in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, who have been sexually harassing a female officer for the past two years.

By Jun Ji-hye

Calls are growing for stronger punishment of 16 male police officers in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, who had been sexually harassing a female officer for the past two years.

According to the National Police Agency, the 16 officers habitually made inappropriate sexual remarks toward the victim, such as “You have an obscene face.”

One of the perpetrators broke into the female officers' lounge and left a flower with the victim's underwear.

Amid growing controversy, a petition was posted on the website of the presidential office, Thursday, calling for authorities to dismiss the offenders.

“The offenders shared rumors about the victim's sex life and even illegally watched surveillance camera footage from nearby lodging establishments to check if the rumors were true,” the petitioner wrote. “The victim has been suffering from mental anguish due to this repeated sexual harassment.”

The petitioner noted that the victim reported the incident to an inspector at the Taebaek Police Station twice in 2019 and 2020, but no action was taken to alleviate the situation, such as immediately separating the harassers from the victim.

The victim was eventually transferred to a police station in another region in February.

The petitioner claimed that a council of the Taebaek Police Station actually tried to protect the offenders instead of punishing them, calling the victim's accusation “excessive” because “such things can happen whenever men and women meet.”

In an interview with a local media outlet, the victim said, “Police seem to put importance only on the organization's reputation, while neglecting the difficulties facing female officers.”

After the incident was reported recently to the National Police Agency, it ordered the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency to take disciplinary action against 12 of the offenders and give the other four a warning.

The agency has also ordered the head of the Taebaek Police Station to be transferred to another police station far from the site as a penalty for his failure to properly supervise officers at the station.

But the petitioner claimed such actions were not sufficient, considering the seriousness of the incident, saying that all people involved should be expelled.

The petitioner added that the latest incident results from the organizational culture of the police that regards female officers as women, not as colleagues.

“The police should undergo internal reform to improve their organizational culture and achieve gender equality,” the petitioner wrote.