A court has ruled that the dismissal of a civilian employee who repeatedly made sexually harassing remarks to subordinates was excessive.
According to legal sources on the 8th, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 14 recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Mr. A seeking to overturn a dismissal imposed by the Air Force Chief of Staff. Mr. A, who worked as a civilian employee in the Air Force, was dismissed in July 2023 for reasons including sexual harassment, abuse of power, and abuse of official authority.
Mr. A was found to have made sexually harassing remarks to a subordinate such as, "If you wear clothes like that, you could arouse soldiers' sexual curiosity," "It looks like you're wearing a corset," "Find a divorced general," and "Use a honey trap and ask to swap the radiator in another department's storage with the restroom radiator."
Mr. A also abused official authority by requiring a team member who had worked a night duty shift to work overtime starting the next morning. In addition, while criticizing the work methods of term-based civilian employees, Mr. A implied disadvantages in contract renewals and routinely engaged in abuse of power, such as monopolizing shared facilities including the shower room and washing machine.
Mr. A appealed the dismissal, but after the Ministry of National Defense Civilian Employee Appeals Review Committee rejected it, filed a lawsuit challenging the decision.
The court recognized most of the disciplinary grounds against Mr. A but found the dismissal excessive.
The panel said, "The remarks at issue amount to verbal sexual harassment without accompanying physical contact, and they do not appear to have directly implied a sexual relationship or been based on an intent to toy with the other party to achieve personal sexual gratification."
The panel also said, "Unjust demands or treatment did not actually accompany the conduct, or the degree of harm to team members was not significantly severe."
The panel then determined that the disciplinary purpose could be achieved with demotion or suspension.