1049 National Public Officials Disciplined for Sexual Violence and Harassment Over 5 Years

More Disciplinary Actions in Ministry of Education and National Police Agency
37% of All Disciplinary Actions Result in Dismissal or Removal

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] It has been revealed that over the past five years, about 1,000 national public officials have been disciplined for sexual misconduct such as prostitution, sexual violence, and sexual harassment. Among government ministries, the Ministry of Education and the National Police Agency had the highest number of sexual misconduct disciplinary cases.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Personnel Management to Ryu Ho-jeong, a member of the Justice Party, from 2015 to 2019, a total of 1,049 national public officials were disciplined for sexual misconduct including prostitution, sexual violence, and sexual harassment. In particular, 682 disciplinary cases occurred over the three years since 2017, meaning that 3 out of every 10,000 national public officials were disciplined for sexual misconduct.

Among the types of sexual misconduct, disciplinary actions due to sexual violence accounted for the largest portion with 467 cases, representing 44.5% of the total, followed by sexual harassment with 456 cases, and prostitution with 126 cases. Of the disciplinary actions, dismissals and removals accounted for 37% of the total, while corrective disciplinary actions such as demotion, suspension, pay reduction, and reprimand made up the remaining 63%.

Looking at the institutions, among those with more than 10,000 national public officials, the Ministry of Education had the highest number of sexual misconduct disciplinary cases with 510. This was followed by the National Police Agency with 218 cases and the Ministry of Justice with 35 cases. Among institutions with fewer than 10,000 officials, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism had 15 cases, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries each had 14 cases, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor had 13 cases.

Out of the 49 administrative institutions where national public officials are employed, only eight institutions had no disciplinary cases related to sexual misconduct: the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the Personal Information Protection Commission, the Fair Trade Commission, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Korea Communications Commission, the Saemangeum Development Authority, and the Ministry of Personnel Management.

Lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong stated, "It is a serious problem that disciplinary cases related to sexual misconduct among national public officials continue to increase amid recent incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence involving high-ranking officials," and emphasized, "Education to raise public officials’ gender sensitivity must be strengthened."