Defense Minister Suh Wook (R) bows to family of an Air Force officer who died by suicide following alleged harassment by a colleague, during his visit to a military hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul, where the victim's body is laid, on Wednesday. During their meeting, Suh pledged a transparent and thorough investigation into the case. (Yonhap)
Colleagues of the late Air Force noncommissioned officer, whose suicide sparked a public uproar over sexual abuse in the military, had abused her for about a year repeatedly after watching her unable to speak up about such cases, a lawyer for the bereaved family said.
The claim suggests that additional members of her unit could have abused the victim, identified only as Master Sergeant Lee, besides the lastest case in March in which she was groped and suffered other abuse by a colleague in a car after a drinking session.
Three months later, she was found dead at her home inside the base in the western city of Seosan. Her family claimed that authorities of her unit attempted to persuade her to reach a settlement with the perpetrator without taking measures to protect her or launching an immediate investgation.
"The seriousness of this incident comes from the fact there were multiple sexual harassment cases throughout a year, including from those involved in trying to persuade the victim to reach a settlement with the suspect," lawyer Kim Jeong-hwan said on YTN Radio. "It appears the molestations were repeated after the suspects saw the victim could not officially raise complaints."
Two of the victim's superiors were relieved of duties last week for allegedly trying to coax her to drop the complaint, and the bereaved family has said the victim was sexually abused by two other senior officers before, with one being the very officer who tried to conceal the March case.
Later Monday, the bereaved family was also to file a complaint against an Air Force public defender on charges of dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to provide due support to the victim after being assigned to the case.
"We will thoroughly look into the allegations as well," ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said during a regular press briefing.
In the face of intense public fury over the incident, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Seong-yong tendered his resignation last week, which President Moon Jae-in accepted immediately.
Asked if Lee could be subject to the investigation, Boo said, the probe is under way "under the principle that there be no sanctuary."
The defense ministry began an audit into Air Force units to look into how they responded after the late master sergeant first reported the case, as well as suspected secondary victimization that occurred after she transferred to a different base.
According to the ministry, 15 additional sexual violence cases have been reported in barracks after the military launched a two-week special reporting period last week. Of them, 10 cases have been handed over to the investigators for an official probe.
The government also belatedly launched a task force to come up with reform measures to improve the military's sexual abuse prevention system.
The task force, which will run until August, will focus on measures to protect and provide support to sexual violence victims, improving the military's organizational culture and securing transparency and fairness in investigations, according to the ministry.
"We will make efforts to establish a military culture safe from sexual abuses based on a thorough review and improvement in the system," a senior ministry official said. (Yonhap)
