[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun lost again in the second trial of the damages lawsuit she filed against former Chief Prosecutor Ahn Tae-geun and the state, claiming she was sexually harassed and subjected to personnel retaliation.
The 8-1 Civil Appeals Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Yoon Woong-gi, Yang Eun-sang, Kim Yang-hoon) upheld the first trial's ruling on the 16th, which dismissed Seo's damages lawsuit.
Seo filed the lawsuit in November 2018, alleging that after she raised issues about former Chief Prosecutor Ahn's sexual harassment of her at a funeral in 2010, Ahn, who became the head of the Ministry of Justice's prosecution bureau in 2015, retaliated by assigning her to a disadvantageous position.
The first trial ruled that Seo filed the damages lawsuit more than three years after she became aware of both the sexual harassment and the perpetrator, thus the statute of limitations had expired. Regarding the personnel disadvantage, the court found insufficient evidence to conclude that former Chief Prosecutor Ahn had abused or exceeded his discretionary authority.
Seo publicly revealed Ahn's sexual harassment in January 2018, which became a catalyst for the spread of the 'Me too' movement across various sectors of society. Following Seo's disclosure, the prosecution formed a 'Sexual Harassment Incident Fact-Finding and Victim Recovery Investigation Team' and, after investigation, reported that Ahn had retaliated against Seo through personnel actions, forwarding the case to trial. However, the sexual harassment charges could not be filed due to the expiration of the complaint period.
Former Chief Prosecutor Ahn was found guilty in both the first and second trials and sentenced to two years in prison, but the Supreme Court remanded the case, and subsequently, a not guilty verdict was finalized.
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