South Korea: Odd Sexual Harassment Ruling Gets Mocked Online
A local court’s ruling in a sexual harassment case has stirred up numerous jokes and sarcastic comments [ko] amongst South Koreans on Twitter.
A female sales clerk working at a golf shop, filed a sexual harassment charge against a male customer, claiming that he touched and poked her ‘breast area’ with his finger against her will. Judge Kim in the Daegu District Court dropped the case [ko] on July 3, 2012, saying ‘the area the victim reported being poked was near her collarbone and is not actually a “sexually sensitive area” such as the bosom.’
A woman wears a t-shirt against sexual violence during a slutwalk march in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Alex Milan Tracy, copyright (c) Demotix (11/06/2011)
Kim Nam-Hoon (@namhoon) an influential tweep in South Korea [ko] received countless comments mocking the court’s decision after he tweeted:
판사가 이젠 성감대까지 감별
Twitter user @taek2_j responded with this snarky comment [ko]:
쇄골 아래는 성감대가 아니었군요! 판사님이 성감대까지 정해주시다니 친절도 하셔라.
@please_be_happy tweeted [ko]:
성추행을 당한 사람이 느껴야만 성추행으로 인정된다는건가? 미친거 아냐?
@dreamer_sun added [ko]:
모르긴해도 저부위가 판사의 성감대는 아닌걸로.
This joke [ko] by @Ex_armydoc has been retweeted more than 640 times:
한국 법정에서 공식적으로 쇄골 밑은 성감대가 아니라고 판결했습니다. 이제부터 쇄골 밑에서 느끼시는 분들은 불법을 자행하고 계신 것이니 가까운 파출소나 경찰서에 신고하여 주시기 바랍니다.
Some net users, however, argued [ko] that some media coverage has been exaggerated and misleading. However @aqua7414 clarified [ko] a simple ground rule in ruling a sexual harassment case.
언제부터 성감대를 법으로 정했냐? 신체접촉이 불쾌했다면 그게 성추행이지. 그럼 발에 집착하고 손에집착하는 사람들..아동성범죄 저지르는 놈들 다 무죄겠네? 아이가 성감대가 있을리 없잖아? 법원은 뇌를 들고 출근해라!
2 comments
Not sure about how the situation looks like in Korea, but in general I thought that the jurisdictional process was supposed to work like this:
1. Something happens
2. I think I am being wronged, hence I sue
3. The other side disagrees and it goes to court
4. The judge rules whether or not I was wronged
…which is exactly what happened in this case. So the judge decided whether it was sexual harassment or not and decided against the plaintiff. It is the judges job to pass judgement. I am glad that the judge brought his/her brain brain to work as bloggers and tweeters seem to have a lot of voice but are not required to bring theirs.
Seriously, if the victim is the one to judge what I regard as sexual harassment, I could as well say that you writing about somebody poking another person’s breast area is sexually harassing me and sue you. And if that judge would do a wimpish job as all the quotes above require, I would actually be given right.