3 in 10 staff at Seoul council have seen sexual harassment

(123rf)

Some 28.3 percent of employees at the Seoul Metropolitan Council said they have either witnessed or experienced sexual harassment in some way at the workplace, a report by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family showed Sunday.

The council was recently notified the results of the assessment on its overall culture by the ministry, officials said, which showed that its members reported authoritative attitudes, nepotism and negative perceptions toward victims of sexual harassment within the organization.

The council scored 2.06 points in the category of negative perception toward victims, which was higher than the 1.9 average of all government organizations that were assessed in 2022.

Among the type of sexual harassment that occurred in the organization -- multiple answers allowed -- the most common was verbal abuse such as sexual innuendo or jokes at 86.7 percent. Some 50 percent picked forcing a person to sit next to him or her at work dinners or pour drinks, while 33.3 percent picked physical abuse.

The majority of the abuse -- 63.3 percent was done by the victims' superiors, most frequently during work dinners (46.7 percent) or during official events (20 percent).

Based on the findings, the Gender Equality Ministry urged the council to develop measures to eradicate such behavior.

The council plans to implement guidelines on preventing sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, including penalties for perpetrators, and operate an official hotline for victims. It will also stipulate the victims of sexual abuse shall not be punished, as the aforementioned report indicated that those working in the council tend to have higher negative perception than average toward such victims.

The city council also plans to implement a strict no-tolerance policy that stipulates heavy penalties for sexual harassment, including suspension, and barring them from promotion. Other measures include a regular survey on sexual harassment at the workplace and collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government for countermeasures such as providing counseling for the victims.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)