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President Moon Jae-in addresses the sexual harassment allegations raised by Seo Ji-hyeon during a press conference at the Blue House on Jan. 30. (Blue House Photo Pool)

On Jan. 30, South Korean President Moon Jae-in responded to the sexual harassment claims made the previous day by Seo Ji-hyeon (a prosecutor at the Tongyeong Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office) by instructing the government to add “creating an environment in which victims can speak up without fear” to its agenda for innovation.

“We have learned about incidents of sexual harassment and abuse by the prosecutors. You must take definite steps to create a culture in which such incidents do not occur,” Moon said in his concluding remarks during a workshop for ministers and vice ministers that was held at the Blue House on Jan. 30.

“These claims have not been confirmed, but if they prove true, this means that sexual harassment runs rampant inside the prosecutors, the last place one would expect that to be the case, and that these women are victimized again by the fear that forces them to put up with this. Women in the workforce in South Korea have pleaded with us to do something about sexual harassment on the job, but this confirms once again that the situation is not improving at all,” Moon said.

“Creating an environment in which victims can speak up without fear is particularly important,” Moon said, asking the government to add this to its agenda for innovation. Participants at the meeting also quoted Moon as saying that “the civil service should set an example for innovation and reform by strictly investigating and dealing with the incident [Seo’s testimony].”

Now that Moon has personally ordered the prosecutors to institute cultural reform and the government to devise countermeasures, the investigation by the prosecutors and other measures are likely to move forward more quickly. Politicians say that no one should be exempt from this investigation and that the perpetrators should be made an example of through severe punishment. They are also voicing their support for Seo Ji-hyeon and calling for the “Me Too” movement to spread so that sexual crimes can be eradicated.

“We demand a thorough investigation and strict punishment in regard to the case of sexual harassment at the prosecutors. Additionally, it must also be determined whether the leadership of the prosecutors at the time used their status or authority to cover up these incidents through unfair punitive personnel assignments,” said Baek Hye-ryun, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party, in a statement.

Women lawmakers from the Democratic Party hold a press conference at the National Assembly on Jan. 30 to announce their support for Seo Ji-hyun. From left are Gwon Mi-hyeog

Nine female lawmakers with the Democratic Party, including Jeong Chun-suk, Yu Seung-hui and Yu Eun-hye, held a press conference at the National Assembly at which they read a press statement signed by all the female lawmakers in the party. “We support Seo Ji-hyun’s courageous testimony about the sexual violence she has suffered. There needs to be more testimony [from victims of sex crimes], and we will work with efforts by women that lead to confessions, testimony and disclosures,” the statement said.

“I’m enraged by the implications of all this about how much women are exposed to sex crimes and how poorly they’re protected from that in their jobs and in their daily life. The Justice Ministry and the prosecutors must not only carry out an impartial investigation and mete out severe punishment as a warning to others, but they must come up with fundamental measures to create an organizational culture of gender equality,” said Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi during a general meeting of lawmakers.

By Seong Yeon-cheol and Kim Kyu-nam, staff reporters

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