In March, a feminine Republic of Korea Air Drive sergeant was molested by a senior non-commissioned officer (NCO). However whereas the navy’s insufficient measures and systematic actions protected the perpetrator, the sergeant was the goal of secondary victimization after reporting the assault. Ultimately, she made the acute option to take her personal life on the day of her marriage registration, two months after she was sexually assaulted.
The sergeant, recognized solely by her surname, Lee, was ordered by one other senior NCO to attend a get-together, regardless that there was a ban on consuming and eating on the time because of the pandemic. The gathering was meant to rejoice a brand new enterprise opened by her superior’s acquaintance, whom she had no reference to.
On her method again from the get-together, Lee was sexually abused by one other NCO, Jang, at the back of a automobile. She obtained out of the automobile and instantly reported the incident to her superior. Jang had good cause to consider that he wouldn’t obtain correct punishment due to the male-dominated system within the navy. Certainly, the NCO who had hosted the get-together urged the sufferer to fake that nothing occurred. However Lee nonetheless thought she may not less than be separated from her abuser by reporting the incident. That turned out to be a useless hope.
Jang threatened Lee, and the perpetrator’s father stepped as much as strain Jang to permit his son to be discharged honorably from the navy. Jang and his household mercilessly bullied Lee for supposedly trampling on the lifetime of an harmless man. The navy, unsurprisingly, offered no help to Lee because the bullying continued.
Lee was recognized with anxiousness dysfunction and insomnia that required greater than three months of remedy, and she or he ultimately requested to maneuver to a different unit because of the strain and unwelcome consideration from different troopers inside her unit. Nonetheless, even inside the new unit she needed to endure extra strain. 4 days after her switch she registered her marriage together with her boyfriend. Then she used her cellphone to document the final moments of her life.
Lee’s lawyer stated the sufferer agonized over making such an excessive alternative. Memos discovered on her cellular phone contained messages like “my physique is soiled” and “It’s all due to the perpetrator.”
The bereaved household urged an neutral investigation, however the navy didn’t act till public strain mounted. The general public lacerated the Protection Ministry’s response to the sufferer’s report. The ministry stated it might conduct a strict investigation, made that promise solely after media studies and citizen petitions. If the navy had taken affordable and immediate measures when Lee first reported the assault, such a tragic incident may have been prevented.
As an alternative, Lee’s speedy superior known as her out for dinner relatively than reporting up the command chain to superiors, saying the assault was one thing she may undergo as soon as in her life. One other speedy supervisor requested her if she could possibly be known as apart and let it go. Lee was pressured to not pursue the case by her superiors, who stated that fellow troopers who had violated the quarantine tips would even be punished if the case grew to become official. They pretended to mollify her however had been attempting to cowl up her report back to keep away from penalties for their very own wrongdoings.
Not solely Lee’s fellow troopers but in addition a public defender appointed by the unit had no will to defend the sufferer. He didn’t take any motion, saying he couldn’t go to see Lee due to the coronavirus quarantine. He didn’t even accompany her throughout the sufferer investigation. Actually, the general public defender is now being sued by her bereaved household for leaking the sufferer’s private info. He denies the accusation.
As well as, native media studies revealed that the Air Drive Judicial Workplace circulated the sufferer’s pictures and evaluated her look. The workplace additionally criticized the bereaved household for elevating questions on its investigation course of.
“[T]listed here are the rooted perceptions inside the navy wherein troopers assume it’s extra worthwhile to cowl up than to report incidents,” Kim Hyung-nam, director on the Middle for Navy Human Rights Korea, instructed The Diplomat. Kim stated the Ministry of Nationwide Protection already has detailed tips and rules to stop such an incident, as related circumstances have occurred earlier than.
“It’s necessary to disclose who tried to cowl this up and why. Solely then can we stop such an incident sooner or later,” Kim stated.
President Moon Jae-in ordered a strict investigation two weeks after the sufferer’s demise. Given how the Ministry of Nationwide Protection and Air Drive investigation authorities have dealt with this case, nonetheless, there are fears that they won’t correctly punish the perpetrator and the sufferer’s superiors.