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| A screen capture of prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun speaking about sexual harassment by her senior supervisor during her interview with JTBC News, Monday./ Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO) said Wednesday it will look into the sexual harassment allegations raised by a female prosecutor against senior male supervisor.
On Monday, Seo Ji-hyun, a public prosecutor at the Tongyeong branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in southern Korea, claimed she was groped by Ahn Tae-geun, a former senior prosecutor, at a funeral in 2010.
The SPO appointed Cho Hee-jin, a seasoned female prosecutor, to lead the internal investigation team which consists of many other female prosecutors.
The prosecution's office said the team will interview the Seo and the alleged offender Ahn. Although Ahn is no longer a public prosecutor, the prosecution said he will have to comply with the interview request.
The team will also look into other sexual offense allegations and ask victims to come forward and speak to them. In the interview, Seo said she was aware of other cases. "I know other cases, even a rape. No one spoke publicly about it and the case was buried."
The SPO said it has no plans to start a criminal investigation against Ahn at the moment and reiterated: "The goal is to learn from our mistakes and to bring about meaningful changes to the organization's culture toward sexuality."
To achieve that goal, Cho's team will propose measures and rules at the end of the investigation through which the prosecutors' office can prevent similar incidents from
happening.
Seo's sexual harassment case came to light with her writings on the prosecution's internal online board on Monday.
Later that day, Seo also appeared on JTBC News, a prime time news channel in Korean, detailing what had happened to her.
"At a funeral in 2010, a senior prosecutor who sat next to me continuously groped my waist and buttocks," Seo said during the live interview. "I couldn't say anything because the Justice Minister was there. I only tried to distance myself from him."
She said many senior prosecutors were aware of what was going on but no one said anything to Ahn to stop him.
Later, she wanted an apology from Ahn but he never gave it. Instead, she claimed she had suffered a disadvantage in her career for demanding the apology.
In response, Ahn said he didn't remember what had happened and denied that she had to suffer because she demanded an apology.
Her 19-minute interview drew tremendous reactions online and offline.
Social media outlets were flooded with messages of applauding her courage and condemning Ahn.
Some people filed petitions on Cheong Wa Dae's website demanding justice for Ahn.
On Tuesday, a former prosecutor, who retired, came forward and detailed her sexual harassment experience by her former colleagues in an interview with another news media outlet.
On Wednesday, the Tongyeong office where Seo is currently working was flooded with bouquets of flowers sent to her.
Asked what inspired her to speak out after eight years of silence, Seo pointed out two reasons.
First, "I heard he became a Christian last year and confessed his wrongdoings. The real confession should be made to the victim."
Second, "What kept me from speaking out for so long was the thought that it would have been my fault. But it was not my fault and it took me eight years to realize this. And I wanted to share this message with other sexual harassment victims out there."
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