"Like a Daughter" - 50s Boss Repeatedly Molests 19-Year-Old Employee

First Trial: 1 Year Prison Sentence with 2 Years Probation
Court: "Bad Nature of Crime and No Remorse"

A man in his 50s who repeatedly sexually assaulted a 19-year-old female employee at his company was sentenced to a prison term with a suspended sentence.

According to the legal community on the 9th, Judge Kim Dohyung, head of Criminal Division 1 at the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch, sentenced A (57), who was indicted on charges of sexual assault, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. He was also ordered to attend a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program.

A, who runs a company in Wonju, Gangwon Province, was indicted for forcibly molesting employee B (19), who was sitting next to him while he was driving on the highway from Wonju to Chuncheon around 10:30 a.m. on September 14 last year. At the time, A told B, "It seems like I came on a trip with my daughter," placed his hand on B’s thigh, and held B’s hand while saying, "Your hand is cold," thereby molesting her.

Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch Photo by Yonhap News

On the 26th of the same month, he was also charged with putting his arm around B’s arm and touching her buttocks as if slapping them at a rest area in Gyeonggi Province, saying, "Is this how a father and daughter walk?" A forcibly molested B a total of nine times until January 9, including making her sit on his lap at the company. It is known that B eventually quit her job after five months due to A’s molestation.

Judge Kim pointed out, "The defendant committed crimes over a long period against the victim, who is an employee of his own company, which shows the severity of the offense and the extent of the harm is not minor." He also criticized, "(A) shows no remorse, claiming he was just unlucky to get caught." Regarding the sentencing, Judge Kim explained, "However, considering that the victim and the defendant reached a civil and criminal settlement and the victim pleaded for leniency, and that the defendant is a first-time offender, the sentence was determined."