Sexual Harassment Senior Officer of Late Sergeant Lee Yeram Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

1st Trial: 9 Years Imprisonment → 2nd Trial "Cannot Hold Defendant Solely Responsible" Reduced to 7 Years Imprisonment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Sergeant Jang Mo (25), a senior officer in the unit who sexually harassed the late Air Force Sergeant Lee Yeram, has been sentenced to 7 years in prison.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheol-sang) on the 29th upheld the original sentence of 7 years in prison in the appeal trial of Sergeant Jang, who was charged with forced sexual assault causing injury against a soldier and retaliatory threats under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Sergeant Jang, who belonged to the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing, is accused of forcibly sexually assaulting Sergeant Lee, a junior, in a vehicle returning from a gathering with unit members on March 2 of last year. After the incident, Sergeant Jang also sent text messages to Sergeant Lee that seemed to imply an extreme choice, allegedly to intimidate Sergeant Lee from filing a complaint, constituting retaliatory threats.

The military prosecution considered Sergeant Jang's charges severe and sought a 15-year prison sentence. However, the first trial court (Ministry of National Defense Ordinary Military Court) accepted Sergeant Jang's claim that the text messages sent to Sergeant Lee were not threats but "acts of apology," sentencing him to 9 years in prison.

The second trial court (Ministry of National Defense High Military Court) judged that Sergeant Jang only followed Sergeant Lee to apologize and that sending text messages implying an extreme choice alone could not be regarded as a specific threat of harm to Sergeant Lee. Accordingly, the second trial court reduced the sentence by 2 years, stating, "The result of (Sergeant Lee's) extreme choice cannot be solely attributed to the defendant," and sentenced Sergeant Jang to 7 years in prison. The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial court's judgment.

Meanwhile, the special prosecutor team led by Ahn Mi-young recently additionally indicted Sergeant Jang on charges of defaming Sergeant Lee.