Lee warns officials against drinking with young employees after work

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a policy briefing by government ministries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps

President Lee Jae Myung urged public officials to exercise greater caution regarding sexual misconduct during a policy briefing on Wednesday, warning them not to sit next to young people of the opposite sex at drinking gatherings.

“Drinking and having a good time is all well and good, but do not have a young person of the opposite sex seated beside you,” Lee said during a policy briefing by government ministries at the Cheong Wa Dae guesthouse.

The briefing was attended by officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the National Data Agency, the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Planning and Budget.

“Most people do not behave that way, but it appears to happen occasionally,” Lee said. “A young employee of the opposite sex is not there for your amusement. Being treated that way is, in itself, something that would provoke immense outrage.”

Lee said such an attitude and mindset are an affront to human dignity because they involve treating someone not as an equal human being, but as an object or a means to an end. He added that officials should pay particular attention to the issue “for the sake of their own lives and the well-being of their families.”

Lee’s remarks echoed comments he made on June 23 regarding the death of a young female firefighter. At the time, he said her death had followed “the worst kind of workplace abuse,” after an investigation confirmed allegations that she had been pressured to drink at a staff gathering.

Lee was particularly critical of the fire authorities, saying they had falsely claimed that her death was caused by a conflict with her boyfriend, inflicting further pain on those already grieving. He also accused them of ignoring an order to conduct an internal investigation.

“How unbearable must her suffering have been before her death, and how devastated must her boyfriend and family have been?” he said.