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Seoul National University, an elite higher education institution nestled in the foothills of Mt. Gwanak, has recently been plagued by a series of scandals involving sexual assault and harassment by faculty members.

Recently, Kang Seok-jin, a 54-year-old star professor in mathematics, was arrested and indicted on charges of sexual assault against nine female students and interns. No sooner had the shock registered than another investigation was launched after the university’s rights center received reports that a business professor identified by the surname Park had repeatedly sexually harassed or assaulted students over the years. Police are also investigating a complaint of sexual harassment by a professor of dentistry, also identified by the surname Park.

As with Kang, the extent of harassment is expected to be even higher for the business professor, with reports of additional misconduct along similar lines.

Several messages alleging abuse by P were posted to the university’s internal bulletin board SNULife around the time of the sexual harassment reports.

“It looks like there’s finally been a sexual harassment report against the business professor everyone was always talking about,” wrote one anonymous student on the morning of Feb. 5. “I think it‘s a great thing that things aren’t as hush-hush as they were before and [victims] don‘t have to be cowed by the authorities into just sitting there and taking it.”

In Nov. 2014, when numerous messages alleging sexual assault and harassment by Kang were being posted, a number of other posts called for a concerted response to “take the opportunity to gather cases of abuse by [Park] and raise the issue.”

Students replied to the message with examples of abuses. “During a drinking party [after class], he had female students kiss him on the cheek,” wrote one. Another wrote, “He asked a female student the difference between a boyfriend and a regular man, and when the student said, ’A boyfriend is someone you hold hands with and kiss,‘ he grabbed her hand and kissed it and asked, ’Am I your boyfriend now?‘”

Another students writing about Park claimed to “know several victims just among my acquaintances” or called for a business college signature campaign. One described Park as the “Mt. Gwanak toadstool.”

The string of sexual misconduct scandals involving SNU faculty now look to have inspired vulnerable students to share more stories of assault and harassment in the wake of the revelations about Kang. Many observers have suggested that perceptions about the prestige of faculty members at one of the country’s most elite universities may have been a factor perpetuating the misconduct, leading victimized students to shy away from reporting.

“In South Korea, the name ‘Seoul National University’ is associated with the ‘ultimate in power’ and ‘great authority,’” said Lee Jae-yeon, a professor of counseling and psychotherapy at Daehan Theological University. “It may be that the prestige the professors enjoy created an atmosphere where victimized students decided they shouldn‘t report what had happened.”

The message was echoed by a post by one student about the allegations against business professor P.

“There have been a few times now when it seemed like [the sexual harassment allegations] might actually blow up, but what kind of power do undergraduates have?” the student wrote. “When it’s the student’s word against the administration’s, [the student] is likely to suffer more than the professor.”

Seoul National University students hold a press conference calling for an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by mathematics professor Kang Seok-jin and punishment

By Park Ki-yong, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]