"An Adult, Yet Can't Even Do This?" Army Captain Shows Underwear Photo to Female Officer

"Why are your eyes so wide open today?"
"This is why ajummas are a problem"
Judges: "They are not usually on familiar terms"

On the 21st, the Incheon District Court ruled that the disciplinary action against an Army captain who sexually harassed a junior female officer was lawful.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] On the 21st, the Incheon District Court ruled that the disciplinary action against an Army captain who sexually harassed a junior female officer was lawful.

Previously, in September 2019, Captain A, who served in an infantry division of the Army, showed his subordinate female officer B his cellphone saying, "Look at this. Someone gave this to me as a gift." The screen displayed a photo of a mannequin wearing men's underwear with a leopard print pattern.

In the same month, during a meeting, Captain A also showed B a photo of a women's underwear set. He then asked, "I don't know much about this, but if I want to give a gift like this, do I need to know the size?"

From January to February of last year, Captain A repeatedly asked personal questions such as, "Your eyes are really big. Why do your eyes look so tired today? Our OOO is so pretty, why don't you have a boyfriend? Is there anyone you're 'some' with these days?" B felt uncomfortable with Captain A's inappropriate remarks and behavior.

After speaking with a female administrative officer working in the division's personnel office, he also made gender-discriminatory remarks, saying, "This is why ajummas cause problems."

Captain A was not only verbally inappropriate but also frequently late due to drinking.

When a non-commissioned officer came to wake him at his quarters, he arrived late and sometimes slept on the sofa or in the staff office.

During working hours, he often played games on his smartphone, frequently cursed at junior officers, spat on the office floor, and discarded beard trimmings after shaving.

In March of last year, the unit applied the Military Personnel Act to Captain A and disciplined him with a one-month pay reduction for violating the duty to maintain dignity and the duty of sincerity.

Displeased with this, Captain A filed an appeal with a certain corps' appeal review committee, which was dismissed, and then filed an administrative lawsuit in a civilian court.

In court, Captain A testified, "Conversations about underwear gifts between adult men and women are perfectly acceptable, and showing adult women photos of men's underwear worn by mannequins on shopping mall websites is also acceptable. There was no intention of sexual harassment."

He also explained, "I asked 'Why do your eyes look so tired?' because B seemed tired," and said, "Calling someone 'ajumma' was a muttered remark and not a gender-discriminatory statement."

However, the court ruled against Captain A in the lawsuit to cancel the pay reduction filed against the division commander.

The court stated, "Aside from the fact that the plaintiff and the victim worked in the same unit, they were not close enough to casually share photos of men's or women's underwear and have such conversations. Considering that the victim was a younger and lower-ranking female officer than the plaintiff, the victim must have felt considerable discomfort due to the plaintiff's actions."