The Most Disgraceful Record Belongs to 'Ministry of Education Officials Including Teachers'
2nd Place Goes to the National Police Agency... Many Sexual Misconduct Cases Among Investigative Agencies
It has been revealed that 104 central government officials were dismissed or forcibly retired last year due to sexual misconduct, including prostitution, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.
On the 18th, Park Jeong-hyun, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Daejeon Daedeok District), presented data from the Ministry of Personnel Management on disciplinary actions against national public officials. According to the data, 104 national public officials were dismissed or removed from office last year due to sexual misconduct. Dismissal and removal are the highest levels of disciplinary action, involving forced loss of public official status and a 3 to 5-year ban on public service appointment. When expanding the disciplinary levels to include demotion, suspension, and reprimand, a total of 316 officials were listed for sexual misconduct disciplinary actions.
By ministry, the Ministry of Education, including teachers, was the most severe. Last year, 104 officials from the Ministry of Education were disciplined for sexual misconduct, followed by ▲ the National Police Agency with 72 ▲ the National Fire Agency with 36 ▲ the Ministry of Science and ICT with 17 ▲ the Korea Coast Guard with 13 ▲ and the Ministry of Justice with 13. When expanding the scope of sexual misconduct disciplinary actions to the past five years, the Ministry of Education had the highest number with 526 cases detected. This was followed by ▲ the National Police Agency with 295 ▲ the National Fire Agency with 148 ▲ the Ministry of Science and ICT with 71 ▲ the Korea Coast Guard with 43 ▲ the Ministry of Justice with 29 ▲ the Supreme Prosecutors' Office with 27 ▲ and the National Tax Service with 27.
Additionally, 21 public officials were caught engaging in prostitution last year, including ▲ 7 from the Ministry of Education ▲ 4 from the National Fire Agency ▲ 3 from the Ministry of Science and ICT ▲ and 2 from the National Police Agency.
Among the approximately 50 government agencies included in the investigation, it is notable that investigative agencies such as the National Police Agency, Korea Coast Guard, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and National Tax Service ranked high in sexual misconduct disciplinary actions. In particular, 338 cases of sexual misconduct occurred within police organizations such as the National Police Agency and Korea Coast Guard over the past five years. Furthermore, the National Fire Agency, which had only one employee disciplined in 2019, has seen 30 to 40 officials punished annually for sexual misconduct over the past four years.
Representative Park stated, "There is a tendency for sexual misconduct issues to continuously occur in certain ministries, including the National Police Agency and National Fire Agency, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Public Administration and Security Committee. With the recent rise of new types of sexual crimes such as dating violence and deepfake violence, it is urgent for government ministries to prepare countermeasures. However, I am concerned that they may need to start by managing their own internal affairs first."
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