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Sexual harassment complaints
By Chang Se-moon
September 7, 2003
It is easy, perhaps too easy, to take a high moral ground by saying that sexual
harassment is bad and no one should do it. This is because the term, sexual
harassment, encompasses the wide range of human behavior between members of the
two sexes, and sometimes between members of the same sex, that I believe,
cannot be lumped into one simple terminology. No matter how one defines it,
sexual harassment has been with us for hundreds of years and will be for
hundreds more. Only the actors and actresses will change.
The Korean Ministry of Labor reports that complaints of sexual harassment to
its Office for Equal Employment have more than doubled since 2000 when only 385
complaints were filed. In October last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality
opened an Anti-Sexual Harassment Clinic, stating that the lack of understanding
on the issue was a serious matter. A recent conversation I had with a leading
official in the Korean Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. indicated that many
Korean businesses are busy taking care of sexual harassment complaints by U.S.
female employees against Korean managers.
One of the most publicized cases was the sexual harassment class action suit
that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed against the
Mitsubishi Motor North American Division in 1996. The case was prompted by 350
women who alleged that male co-workers and supervisors kissed and fondled them,
demanded sexual favors, and retaliated against those who refused. On June 10,
1998, Mitsubishi settled the case by agreeing to pay $34 million, shared by 350
women who worked at the Illinois plant.
Within the past three months alone, several incidents of sexual harassment
involving military personnel have been reported in Korean newspapers. For
instance, a 25-year old female Korean worker at Camp Henry in Taegu filed a
complaint against a 37-year old male U.S. employee, claiming that he sexually
assaulted her when she refused to have group sex.
In another instance, an army sergeant of an engineering battalion working on
the South-North Korean railroad was arrested for allegedly breaking into a
female officer’s tent with a razor blade at dawn and sexually molesting her by
touching her stomach under her clothes while she was sleeping.
In another case, an army lieutenant colonel from a medical unit was arrested on
July 15 on charges of sexually assaulting a subordinate female officer. In yet
another case, a 21-year-old private, Kim, jumped from his apartment building in
Uijongbu on July 9 and killed himself. Mr. Kim reportedly committed suicide
after his superiors sexually assaulted him every night in their barracks by
touching his genitals.
Several high-profile civilian cases have been reported here in recent years
too. For instance, a female employee at the Korea Institute for Industrial
Economics and Trade accused the then KIET’s president of sexually touching her
while taking her to a mountain resort in his car. She claimed that her boss
caressed her hand and face while suggesting that they go to the Sorak Mountains
on the east coast.
In another instance, a former student activist, Lim Soo-kyong, was reported to
have told reporters that the so-called ``386 generation politicians’ who claim
to be clean of any corruption drank heavily with hostesses, with suggestions of
an alleged sexual scandal, especially on May 18 which commemorates a tragic
period in Korean history.
Efforts to curb sexual harassment have increased in recent years. In response
to growing incidences of wonjo kyoje, buying sex from teenage girls especially
minors, the identities of the perpetrators including names, ages, and
occupations have been revealed since 2001 on the website of the Korean
Commission on Youth Protection (KCYP) and bulletin boards of its district
offices nationwide.
According to the Act on the Protection of Youth Against Sex Offenses, those who
bought sex from a minor have to pay 20 million won (about $17,000) in fines or
serve up to 3 years in prison. Those responsible for arranging the illicit acts
face a fine of up to 30 million won (about $25,000) or a prison sentence of up
to 5 years. Teenagers who sell sex are exempted from criminal convictions and
their identities are not released for their protection.
When the Seoul District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a sexual
harassment case filed by 40 female employees against Hotel Lotte, ordering the
company to pay compensation to some of the victims, the Court made clear that
routine educational sessions on preventive measures were not enough. A couple
of years ago for the first time in history, the Seoul National University
expelled a male student for unwanted physical contact with at least eight
female students, following a decision of the school's Student Disciplinary
Committee. The expelled student claimed that all contact was consensual.
About ten years ago a group of twelve women decided to challenge the Korea’s
``male superiority mentality,’’ a possible breeding ground for sexual
harassment as well as violence against Korean women, by establishing the Korea
Sexual Violence Relief Center (KSVRC). The Center provides numerous services to
victims of sexual violence such as extensive psychological, legal, and medical
counseling, a 24-hour crisis hotline, and a shelter for young victims of
incest. The Center is actively involved in an education program to educate
school children and the general public about sexual violence.
Well, what’s the point?
Obviously, there are clear cases of violence and harassment that occur against
women when males overcome or ignore their clearly expressed lack of consent.
There is no doubt that should be punished to the full extent of the law. Then
there are cases in which males may misread the overture of females and become
aggressive beyond what female partners may have had in mind. Then there are
cases where males touch females who are no strangers to them, thinking that
these females do not mind being touched. Then there are cases where males touch
females in response to the females’ friendly gesture believing that the touch
was invited.
The cases become complicated when the contact is non-aggressive or casual, is
considered by many females as being innocent or a non-issue, but is perceived
as harassment by some who report to the supervisor. The cases become more
complicated when accusers are alleged to suffer what the defense attorneys call
a ``borderline personality,’’ which in plain English means an unstable
personality. The cases become even more complicated if the supervisor takes
advantage of the situation by punishing the alleged aggressor whom the
supervisor does not like, when in fact all that the victim wanted was a simple
apology. Like many other aspects of life, there does not seem to be a simple
solution.
I do not believe there will be any more sexual harassment incidents in the
future than there have been in the past. Due to changing times and changing
values thereof, however, the number of sexual harassment cases in Korea that
are reported or revealed to the public will increase significantly in the
foreseeable future. The type of sex-related violations of law will also change.
Here in Mobile (Alabama), a Baltimore medical doctor was arrested last May
after allegedly coming to Mobile to meet a 15-year old girl for sex that was
arranged through the Internet. If convicted, the doctor who is only 32 years
old and waiting for trial, faces as many as 30 years in prison.
I expect to see a day when prominent Koreans visiting room salons and other
places for adult entertainment in Korea are accused of sexual harassment, if
not rape, by their female partners. I don’t mean harassment inside room salons
and other similar places. I mean accusations of harassment after their visit to
love hotels upon mutual agreement. Any defense based on consensual sex would be
risky at best. Talking about consensual sex, the alleged rape of Desiree
Washington by Mike Tyson occurred in Tyson’s hotel room in 1991 when the beauty
contester voluntarily joined Tyson in an Indianapolis hotel room. An alleged
rape this year of a 19-year old woman in Colorado by Los Angeles Lakers
All-Star Kobe Bryant also occurred when the woman voluntarily entered Bryant’s
hotel room in the night. Both Tyson and Bryant claimed that the sex was
consensual.
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