"Officials from Geochang-gun accused of sexually harassing female police officer must undergo swimsuit inspection, sent without detention"

Senior public officials accused of sexually harassing a female police officer at a company dinner were sent to the prosecution without detention.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 14th that senior public officials A and B from Geochang-gun were referred to the prosecution on charges of forcible molestation and insult, respectively.

According to the police, Mr. A is accused of grabbing the hand of female police officer C in her 20s and forcibly hugging her on the afternoon of October 31.

Mr. B is accused of making remarks such as, "To transfer to Geochang-gun, you must pass a swimsuit inspection by the county governor," to Ms. C.

Geochang County Office, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Kang Sharon

The company dinner was arranged by Geochang-gun after the Geochang-gun Hanmadang Festival to encourage the police officers who were in charge of festival security and traffic duties.

It is known that many people attended the dinner, including Mr. A and Mr. B, employees from related departments of the county office, and police officers.

The Geochang Police Station received the complaint on November 2, and the provincial police agency, which took over the case from Geochang Police Station, conducted an investigation including analyzing the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage inside the restaurant where the dinner was held.

During the police investigation, Mr. A and others admitted to the acts but claimed that they were done as encouragement and the remarks were made as jokes.

After reviewing the CCTV footage and witness statements from the day of the incident, the police judged that the charges against the two were valid and sent them to the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office Geochang Branch without detention.