In January 2007, a complainant only known as Lee (51-year-old female) filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), arguing that "A drunken prosecution investigator visited the complainant"s office late at night, forced the complainant to forgive the person who brought charges against the complainant, and harassed the complainant sexually. The complainant reported such acts to the prosecutor in charge and the head of the branch office of a district public prosecutor"s office, but to no avail." Concerning the complaint, the NHRCK recommended that the Prosecutor General and the chief prosecutor of the C District Public Prosecutor"s Office reprimand the prosecution investigator concerned and admonish his supervisors, i.e. the prosecutor in charge and the head of O Branch Office.
In response to the complainant"s argument, the prosecution investigator (the respondent) admitted having been drunk and meeting the complainant late at night. However, the respondent contended that he persuaded, not forced, her to forgive the plaintiff and merely hugged the complainant lightly without any intent of sexual harassment. The prosecutor in charge and the head of the branch office stated that they looked into the case at the request of the complainant, but were not in a position to arrest or reprimand the prosecution investigator because he denied the charge of sexual harassment and the complainant did not express intention to level charges against him.
The NHRCK investigated the situation and found that (i) the drunken respondent called the complainant by telephone late at night to meet her; (ii) the respondent forced the complainant to forgive the person who made an accusation against her, indicating that the complainant might suffer retribution in some form if she did not; and (iii) the respondent sexually harassed the complainant by hugging her and touching her breasts and buttocks. In addition, the prosecutor in charge and the head of the branch office did not take any action on mere grounds of denial by the prosecution investigator, even though the complainant met them, reported said acts to them, and showed them a transcript of a taped recording of her meeting with the prosecution investigator.
The NHRCK determined that the respondent and other persons concerned violated Article 12(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea providing for the principle of due process to protect people"s basic rights, Article 38 of the Standing Rules on Human Rights Protection during Investigation, and Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution given that (i) settlement is not in the interest of the complainant and the complainant has consistently objected to settlement in a situation where recommending settlement is permitted only when it benefits both parties; (ii) it is an unacceptable behavior under conventional wisdom for a prosecution prosecution investigator to ask a female suspect to meet him late at night while under the influence; (iii) he sexually harassed the female complainant by saying "let me hug you", hugging her, and touching her breasts and buttocks and (iv) the prosecutor in charge and the head of the branch office failed to take appropriate action in the case on mere grounds that the prosecution investigator denied such charges and that sexual harassment is a crime indictable upon a complaint, despite proof from a transcript of a recording that the complainant had been sexually harassed.
Accordingly, the NHRCK recommended that the prosecution investigator concerned be reprimanded and that the prosecutor in charge and the head of the branch office be admonished.
