A former Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) executive who was accused of repeatedly touching the earlobes and buttocks of his same-sex subordinates has been sentenced to prison.
The Seongnam District Court’s Seongnam Jiwon Criminal Division 6 sentenced A, a former KPGA executive, to six months in prison, two years’ probation, and ordered him to attend a 40-hour sexual assault treatment course and register his identity.스포츠토토
For years, Mr. A stroked the buttocks and touched the earlobes of same-sex subordinates in offices, restrooms, and other places. Mr. A, who was a manager in charge of all management tasks such as internal human resources and sexual misconduct prevention education, was sent to trial in February last year after police and prosecutors confirmed the allegations. In addition to the nine complainants, four others who were also molested but did not join the complaint were also called as witnesses and stood in court. “The complainants did not raise the issue of sexual harassment for a long time, but after the establishment of the labor union, they filed a complaint, and their statements were exaggerated,” Ahn claimed.
The court noted that “the manner in which the sexual harassment occurred, the words and actions at the time of the harassment, etc. were quite similar to each other, and a number of witnesses besides the complainants also stated similar victimizations.” “Although it appears that the complainants raised the issue after the establishment of the union, as claimed by the defendant, it is quite possible that the complainants were hesitant to report their victimization at the time of the harassment, given that they were subordinates and had to continue working at the same company as the defendant.” Regarding whether the defendant’s behavior constituted groping, the court wrote, “The touching of the buttocks and ears, even if the parties are of the same sex, constitutes an act that would cause shame and disgust if the parties were not in a very intimate relationship or if it was not done with mutual consent, and considering the circumstances of the groping, the working relationship between the defendant and the victims, and the words and actions of the defendant while touching the victims, the defendant’s behavior constituted groping.” However, given that Mr. A was a first-time offender, he was sentenced to house arrest.
The victims were both relieved and concerned by the verdict. Mr. B, a KPGA employee who was victimized by Mr. A, said, “I suffered a lot because of the frequent secondary attacks on the victimized employees. However, the court’s sentence proved the truth.” Mr. C, a KPGA employee who was victimized by Mr. A, said, “When the sexual harassment was publicized, there were many cases where the perpetrator was favored and the victimized employees were blamed. “We hope that the organizational culture of Korean professional sports organizations will become more mature after this incident, and that it will serve as an opportunity to enhance the human rights of employees in the association’s secretariat,” said Heo Jun, chairman of the KPGA union.