After the female prosecutor disclosed her experience of sexual harassment, the MeToo wave swept across South Korea.
“If I don’t prepare to lose everything, maybe I will never talk about it.” Xu Zhixian said in a cafe near the center of Seoul. “I even thought of waiting for everything to be public and never going out of the house.” “On January 29, 2018, the female prosecutor publicly condemned the magistrate who committed sexual assault on the most watched TV show in South Korea. A year and a half later, the anti-sexual harassment campaign MeToo continued one after another in South Korea, and women bravely stood up to expose their sexual assault. This is the first time women in the country have screamed for themselves on this conservative patriarchal land. The good news is that the judicial system finally accepted their complaint.
Road resistance and long
Xu Zhixian’s case dates back to October 2010. When the female prosecutor attended the funeral of her colleague’s father, An Taigen, a senior official who accompanied the Minister of Justice, sat down next to her and stroked her hips and crotch. The harassment continued for a long time. time. “This is the first time I have encountered this kind of thing,” Xu Zhixian told reporters. “I can’t believe what happened. There were many senior officials around me at the time, but they all turned a blind eye!”
After the incident, the victim made an internal complaint and asked the other party to apologize. “I made this request through an intermediary.” She said, “If this matter is publicly mentioned in such a conservative work environment, I can no longer continue to work.” Her request was not answered. Despite her impeccable business capabilities, in 2015, she was transferred to the District Court involuntarily and was forced to accept a position below her professional level. “This is the revenge of the aggressor against me,” she said. “He had just obtained the right to make decisions about personnel transfers.” Xu Zhixian was very distressed by this pain, especially when she heard that the aggressor still claimed to be holy and forgive. Sometimes, it is even more unbearable. However, this is not the first scandal of Antaigen. In 2017, he was also dismissed from the Ministry of Justice for taking bribes.
On January 23, 2019, 46-year-old Xu Zhixian was finally recognized as a victim by the judiciary after disclosing his sexual assault for one year.
1. Author of “Indelible Feminism” Yin Zhiying 2. Professional lawyer for the defense of victims of sexual violence Li Runyou
On January 23, 2019, Xu Zhixian won the case at the Seoul Central District Court one year after he disclosed his experience. But the violator Antaigen was finally convicted of abusing his power and illegally transferring others, not the crime of sexual assault that had already exceeded the statute of limitations. “I’m very pleased with this verdict.” Xu Zhixian said, “This road is difficult and long.”
Astonished Korean
“In the beginning, I disclosed my sexual assault on the company’s intranet to prove what happened to me.” Xu Zhixian said, “Soon, more and more people began to pay attention to this matter, and the media immediately followed I entered the day and I received an invitation to interview JTBC. I was hesitant to be invited at the time. I found that the bulletin on the website of the Legal Department said that there was no problem with my transfer, and I immediately decided to participate in the evening news program.”
The passage of time and long-term psychotherapy made Xu Zhixian break the silence: “I finally realized that this is not my fault. Harvey Weinstein case (October 2017, “The New York Times” and “The New Yorker” exposure, famous American film The producer was accused of rape and sexual abuse by dozens of actresses) and the MeToo movement, so I no longer feel guilty.”
Millions of Koreans witnessed the prosecutor’s testimony and tears on the TV screen. “Her words touched the hearts of Koreans, which marked a key turning point.” Yin Zhiying, the author of the book “Indelible Feminism” after the Xu Zhixian incident, analyzed, “Even so wise and outstanding women Prosecutors may also become victims of sexual harassment. Procuratorates have become incubators of sexual crimes…”
Other victims also followed in the footsteps of Xu Zhixian and boldly exposed the crimes of sexual assault by celebrities, including even well-known political figures. An Xi was accused of rape by his secretary on the JTBC program and resigned from the post of Governor of Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea in March 2018, and was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison that month. You know, the presidential candidate had just disclosed his support for the MeToo movement.
Film producers, directors, writers… The cultural world is also stained. A few weeks after Xu Zhixian disclosed his experience, Korean poet Gao Yin, who was expected to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, also suffered sexual harassment charges. The 85-year-old Gao Yin was imprisoned many times in the 1970s and 1980s for supporting the democratic movement and was tortured. He is regarded as the national hero of South Korea. A famous writer Cui Yingmei accused Gao Yin of sexually harassing young women in her poem “Monster”. She named Gao Yin in the poem, but the media generally believed that the description of the poem was Gao Yin.
1. The poet Gao Yin who was accused of sexual assault in 2016 2. The presidential candidate An Xizheng who was sentenced to prison for being accused of rape in 2018 3. An Taigen who was accused of sexual assault in 2019
A few days later, a large library in Seoul closed the special exhibition hall of Goldin, and the Ministry of Education also decided to move its poetry out of Korean textbooks. Subsequently, he counterclaimed with defamation, which caused a huge deterrent to the victims. However, the court rejected his request for compensation of 1 billion won, and pointed out in the investigation results that although the charges he suffered had exceeded the time limit of the lawsuit, the testimony was still reliable.
Such a result makes Li Runyou, a professional lawyer who is a professional sexual violence case, feel relieved. After the incident of Xu Zhixian, she was almost overwhelmed by a mountain of proxy requests. “Because I cannot handle all cases, sometimes I will recommend the victim to another law firm.” She said.
Convincing verdict
Recently, in the case accepted by Li Runyou, a photographer who had gained a certain popularity on YouTube was accused of harassing young women during the shooting process and was eventually convicted. Li Runyou also represented the 24-year-old former judo player Shen Yuyong who was sexually assaulted by his coach in high school. Shen Yuyong’s case is not alone: since the start of the MeToo wave, news of coaches’ sexual assaults on athletes have repeatedly made headlines in the Korea Daily, and the Ministry of Sports apologized and initiated an investigation.
Although South Korea has become one of the developed countries in the world for decades, it still has a long way to go in promoting equality between men and women. Despite receiving the same education as men, Korean women rarely take up management positions, and those who dare to speak up pay a heavy price for it.
Li Runyou knows this well. Before starting her own law firm, she was punished by her former employer for exposing her boss’ sexual harassment. In her view, there are several factors that can explain the sudden liberation of Korean people’s speech: “First, this is the first time that women of higher social strata have encountered public exploitation of sexual assault; second, the existence of the Internet and social networks has made women’s The testimony was fermented on a large scale; finally, before the MeToo movement, large-scale demonstrations brought down the former president of the accused corruption Park Geun-hye. Therefore, people are convinced that as long as they are united, they can change this society.”
The MeToo wave inspired people’s anger. In 2018, women’s demonstrations continued in South Korea. In August of the same year, 700,000 marches and demonstrators gathered to condemn the Molka phenomenon-referring to the installation of pinhole cameras in public places and the secret photography of women’s dressing and toileting. South Korean President Wen Jae-yin called for more severe sanctions against the photographer.
In August 2018, 700,000 Korean women expressed their anger at the largest demonstration.
“Almost all women have experienced this kind of thing,” Xu Zhixian said. “We are the victims of the social system.” “Men do not treat women equally, but regard women more as objects or even enemies that need to be protected.” Li Runyou said regretfully. “This kind of inequality is deeply engraved in our subconscious mind.” Yin Zhiying added.
The MeToo wave has promoted social change. The government has decided to grant a longer sentence and statute of limitations for harassment cases, and the courts have also participated. Xu Zhixian said: “Prior to this, the victim had to prove that he had carried out physical desperate resistance before the rape case was established.”
The court’s decision greatly encouraged the Korean media to continue to pay attention to sexual assault. At the beginning of July 2019, the famous presenter Jin Chengjun resigned after being caught in the subway for being caught on camera. Later, several K-POP singers were prosecuted for sexual assault, candid photography and sharing obscene videos.
Although Xu Zhixian is still a member of the procuratorial organ, she has not returned to her post, and she is still awaiting the judgment of the judicial organ. However, since appearing on TV, she has received hundreds of messages from young women. “I have met many of them on the street. Sometimes, with tears, they told me that I gave them courage and hope.” Xu Zhixian told reporters, “This is what I want to achieve when I openly encounter myself. Purpose, I want to tell people who have the same experience as me, this is not their fault.”
