Woman fined for sexually harassing female subordinate

A Seoul lower court Tuesday fined a woman for harassing her female subordinate in a rare ruling here acknowledging same-sex sexual harassment.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that a woman, whose information was withheld, should pay 5 million won ($4,400) to her former junior female staffer as she breached the human dignity of the victim by making sexual jokes.

The defendant was accused of sexually harassing the employee by asking “What did you do last night with a guy?” after seeing an atrophic scar on the victim’s neck on her second day of work. 

The harasser also asked her victim whether she had ever delivered a baby before, saying, “Your hair looks just like that of a mother who gave birth to a child.”

The victim reported the harassment to the company, but no measures were taken. She then quit the job.

Four months later, the company punished the superior with a “reprimand” after the victim reported the case again to the company.

While the defendant apologized to the junior worker later and the company offered to pay the victim a salary of five months, the victim took legal action against both her former superior and the company last year and sought 30 million won in compensation.

The company had claimed that it was not accountable for the case, as it has periodically conducted anti-sexual harassment campaigns for employees. The court, however, held that the company did bear some responsibility, as the case involved a worker who was in charge of supervising other workers.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)