Go to contents

Male officer gets demotion for sexual harassment

Posted December. 23, 2014 05:44,   

한국어

A male military officer, who sexually harassed and molested a female soldier, has been granted demotion. It is the first time in the nation’s history that an active duty military serviceman has been devoted due to violation of military principle through sexual offenses. The disciplinary action is the toughest measure since the military authority announced no-tolerance policy on sex crimes, and will likely have huge influence on punishment for future sex crimes committed in the barracks.

According to the Army on Monday, the command of an identified military division assembled a disciplinary committee against a lieutenant colonel on his violation of military principle through sexual offenses, and decided on granting the penalty of one-rank demotion to lieutenant. The Army quoted the committee as saying that the lieutenant colonel sexually harassed and molested a female company officer in his unit multiple times.

A source in the Army said, “We judged it as a grave incident in which the lieutenant colonel committed sexual violence against a servicewoman by abusing his rank, and took unprecedentedly strong disciplinary action.” If a military officer is demoted, he could be discharged in dishonor, and even after retirement from the military, he can suffer significant monetary damage including a cut in military pension paid to him. The lieutenant colonel reportedly appealed the case to a higher-level military unit, claiming the punishment is too harsh.

A ranking officer in the Army said, “The level of actual punishment against him will be determined based on the content of the appeal and additional reviews.” There is a possibility that the level of punishment granted to the lieutenant colonel can be eased a bit in the course of appeals. However, as the military has actually displayed its determination to sternly punish for violation of military discipline through sexual offenses, it heralds significant ramifications.