Senior Teacher at Ulsan Private High School Accused of Sexual Violence Against Two Contract Teachers

Victims Targeted After Dinner Gathering with Alcohol Last September
School Forced Victims into Silence, Engaged in Secondary Victimization

The police have launched an investigation following a report that a senior teacher at a private school in Ulsan committed sexual violence against contract teachers.

On January 12, civic groups in Ulsan, including the Ulsan Women's Solidarity, held a press conference at the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, stating, "A head teacher in his 50s at a private school, referred to as School A, committed sexual violence against contract teachers." They criticized, "However, instead of protecting the victims who bravely reported the incident to the school and the police, the school forced them into silence and failed to take active measures." The groups further claimed, "School administrators not only failed to separate the perpetrator from the victims, but also engaged in secondary victimization by saying things like, 'Don't spread rumors,' and 'No woman goes through life without experiencing something like this.'" They added, "The perpetrating teacher is a relative of the foundation's chairman."

On the 12th, at the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, civic groups including the Ulsan Women's Solidarity held a press conference urging punishment for the teacher who committed sexual violence at a private school. Photo by Yonhap News

The sexual violence incident took place in September of last year, following a dinner that involved drinking. The perpetrating teacher was suspended from duty on November 1, about a month after the incident occurred. Subsequently, another contract teacher reported that she had also been sexually harassed by the same teacher prior to the aforementioned incident. The police have received reports on both incidents and are investigating the teacher on charges including sexual assault.

The civic groups pointed out, "This incident occurred because the school neglected a violent organizational culture in which drinking gatherings were frequently forced under the power of the chairman." They criticized it as a "structural disaster" created by the distorted and authoritarian management structure of private schools. They demanded, "The school foundation should immediately dismiss the teacher who committed sexual violence and completely reform the wrongful organizational culture." They also urged, "The city education office should conduct a special audit and a comprehensive investigation of all faculty and staff, including students, to fully disclose the actual situation of sexual violence within the school."

In response, a representative of School A explained, "The suspension was delayed because we received the investigation notice late due to a national network outage," and added, "We will cooperate closely with the education office and ensure strict punishment as soon as the investigation results are available." However, the representative clarified, "The perpetrating teacher is not a relative of the foundation's chairman."

The Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education has been conducting a comprehensive investigation since January 9, targeting all faculty and staff who have worked at the school over the past three years. The office also plans to request a re-examination if it finds the disciplinary actions taken by the school foundation to be inappropriate or excessively lenient.