hankyoreh

South Korean Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il looks somber as he heads for lunch in his car outside of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in the Seocho district of Seoul on Jan. 30. (by Shin So-young

On Jan. 30, South Korean Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il promised to thoroughly investigate prosecutor Seo Ji-hyeon’s claims about sexual harassment and to take disciplinary measures.

“We’re taking this very seriously, and we’re planning to carry out a thorough investigation. We’ll take disciplinary measures based on the results of that investigation,” Moon told reporters on his way to work.

Widespread media coverage of Seo’s claims triggered public indignation and forced the country’s top prosecutor to personally announce plans to investigate the claims.

On Jan. 29, the Justice Ministry had said in an official statement that it had failed to find any irregularities in Seo’s assignment record and that it would be difficult to investigate the matter considering that the officials in question had already retired. But on the very next day, the Ministry completely reversed itself in a statement released on Jan. 30, which said, “Orders have been given to thoroughly investigate all the issues that Seo has raised and to deal with them sternly. In regard to Seo’s claim that she was given unfair assignments, we’ll take another thorough look into her assignment record to see whether there were any irregularities.”

Public support for Seo’s courageous testimony has been expressed by the legal community. “We send a message of encouragement and support to Seo Ji-hyeon, who had the courage to speak out on behalf of the victims of sexual violence in Korean society who face the same issue, in order to find a fundamental solution to the problem of sexual violence,” the women’s rights committee for MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society said.

The Korean Women Lawyers Association released a position statement of their own: “Seo Ji-hyeon’s testimony represents a major step toward rooting out the sexual violence and harassment in the workplace that are rampant in Korean society.”

By Kim Yang-jin, staff reporter

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