The Military's 'Sexual Violence Incident' Reporting System Was Also Flawed

Citizens are visiting the condolence altar at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the 6th to pay their respects to the late Sergeant Lee, who endured sexual violence by a senior officer and attempts at persuasion within the Air Force before taking her own life. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 7th, the Ministry of National Defense Audit Office is scheduled to begin an audit of three units: the Air Force Headquarters Gender Equality Center, the 20th Fighter Wing, and the 15th Special Mission Wing.

On the day, a military official stated, "The Air Force Headquarters Gender Equality Center at Gyeryongdae, Chungnam, recognized the sexual harassment victimization of a female non-commissioned officer but failed to properly report it to the Ministry of National Defense, so we plan to verify the facts."

The Ministry of National Defense audit team plans to investigate from Sergeant Lee’s initial report at the Air Force Headquarters and the 20th Fighter Wing, what measures the units took, and when they reported to the higher command. Additionally, it is known that the 15th Wing will focus on investigating whether there was any ‘secondary damage’ inflicted on the victim.

The Air Force Headquarters Gender Equality Center became aware of Sergeant Lee’s victimization on March 5. However, it was only on April 6, a month later, that the Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Division received the damage report. The report was submitted in the form of a ‘monthly status report’ under the title ‘Sexual Harassment Damage Report Received.’ It was a simple aggregated report that did not provide any details about the incident or the victim’s personal information. This is why the Ministry of National Defense Gender Equality Policy Division failed to notify the chain of command, including Minister of National Defense Seo Wook.

Despite Sergeant Lee having voiced sexual grievances about 20 times to her unit, timely action was not taken. This is why criticism is emerging that the ‘military sexual violence incident reporting and response system’ is almost dysfunctional. Sergeant Lee transferred to the 15th Wing on the 18th of last month and made an extreme choice just three days later.

According to the current Ministry of National Defense’s ‘Regulations on Support for Gender Equality in National Defense,’ when receiving a sexual violence report or counseling, the fact must be ‘briefly reported’ through the gender equality work channel in the format designated by the Minister of National Defense. Critics point out that if the unit had properly followed the regulations when Sergeant Lee first reported, her extreme choice could have been prevented.