"16 Years of Taking It Easy, Are You F***ing Crazy?" Female Coast Guard Officer Reveals Workplace Harassment and Sexual Violence

A public petition post by a female officer of the Korea Coast Guard. Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] A female police officer affiliated with the Korea Coast Guard has filed a national petition alleging workplace harassment and sexual violence, prompting the Coast Guard to launch an internal investigation.

On the 23rd, a post titled "I am reporting the verbal abuse and territorial behavior of a current office colleague, as well as a workplace sexual violence incident I experienced as a patrol officer, and I ask for an investigation" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board.

Officer A, who was assigned to the Coast Guard in February this year, said, "In the first week of my assignment, overwhelmed by administrative duties, a colleague in the office said, 'How have you been coasting for 16 years that you can't even handle this simple administrative task and are sweating like this?'" She added, "Saying that in an office with other employees made me feel extreme shame and humiliation."

She continued, "Because of B, I began to avoid interpersonal relationships and even had trouble eating properly, causing me to receive psychiatric treatment and take medication," adding, "I requested the company to separate me from B, but all I heard were suggestions to 'apply for parental leave' or 'Did you come to the company to make friends?'"

Additionally, Officer A claimed that she was sexually assaulted by a superior during a company dinner while working at a frontline Coast Guard station in 2008.

She explained, "At that time, the team leader said he had something to talk about and took me to the basement of the building where the dinner was held," adding, "When I followed, it was a room salon; the door was closed, and he sat next to me, poked fruit with a toothpick and fed it to me, telling me to open my mouth, while placing his hand on my shoulder and pressing his body against mine."

Officer A said, "I was scared and pushed him away, asking, 'What are you doing right now?' and ran out," adding, "Nevertheless, the superior chased me and forcibly pushed me into the entrance door of a motel, but when I screamed and ran out onto a busy road, he did not follow me any further."

She recalled, "The next day at work, when I told the section chief, he just said, 'That's crazy' and took no action," expressing, "The memory was so painful that it remained a trauma throughout my Coast Guard career."

Finally, Officer A appealed, "It has been 13 years since that incident, and the trauma remains, but the perpetrator is living well as if nothing happened, which is frustrating," adding, "Because internal investigations tend to cover it up, I ask for an external investigation and punishment of the perpetrator."

Currently, the Coast Guard is conducting an internal investigation to verify the facts based on Officer A's national petition post.

A Coast Guard official said, "We are currently verifying the facts based on the national petition post."