Defense Ministry Launches Audit of KIDA Chief Over Workplace Harassment Cover-Up

The Ministry of National Defense will launch an audit of Kim Jung-soo, president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), over allegations that he avoided handling a workplace harassment case at the government-funded research institute. Kim faces criticism for taking no action for three months after receiving a direct complaint from a victim.

According to the Defense Ministry and KIDA on Sunday, the ministry will dispatch auditors from its inspector general's office this week. The audit follows Seoul Economic Daily's report that an employee in KIDA's department A filed a harassment complaint with Kim regarding abuse by a team leader and requested personnel action, but Kim avoided addressing the matter for approximately three months.

The ministry moved swiftly to launch the audit just over 10 days after the media report. However, sources said the rapid response came after another victim filed a petition with the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) requesting an investigation into workplace harassment.

The BAI, upon receiving the petition, reportedly forwarded it to the Defense Ministry as the supervising agency with instructions to conduct a prompt audit and report the results.

"We recently received a petition alleging workplace harassment at KIDA," a BAI official said. "The petition states that President Kim took no action for three months after receiving reports of workplace abuse, and that the Defense Ministry showed no signs of conducting an audit even after media coverage, hence the request for the BAI to investigate."

The official explained that the BAI "transferred the petition to the Defense Ministry and directed the ministry's inspector general's office to conduct an audit and report the findings."

After media reports sparked criticism of self-protective behavior, Kim reportedly pressured employees to "find out who leaked internal information to the media."

Kim Claims 'Misunderstanding' to Vice Minister

Kim allegedly contacted the current Vice Minister of National Defense, his junior from the Korea Military Academy, claiming that "proper procedures were followed and this is a misunderstanding."

This raised concerns within KIDA about whether the Defense Ministry's audit would be conducted properly. Another harassment victim who had remained silent even after media reports subsequently filed a petition with the BAI, sources said.

"President Kim avoided handling the case for three months out of fear that the harassment incident would become public and raise questions about his leadership responsibility," multiple KIDA employees said. "This constitutes improper evasion of employer responsibilities stipulated in Article 76-3 of the Labor Standards Act regarding measures for workplace harassment. Since he brought this audit upon himself, the Defense Ministry must thoroughly investigate and take appropriate action."

Kim drew criticism as a "self-protector" for taking no action for three months after receiving reports of workplace harassment. Internal calls for his resignation intensified amid allegations that he attempted to cover up the incident by hiring a labor attorney recommended by a personnel official in the grievance department—a high school classmate of that official—who concluded there were no problems.

Kim, a retired Army lieutenant general and graduate of Korea Military Academy (Class 43), previously served as director of the Crisis Management Center at the National Security Office (brigadier general), chief of Army Intelligence Operations (major general), and superintendent of Korea Military Academy (lieutenant general). After retiring in 2021, he was considered as a candidate for Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Presidential Office under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in 2023 but was dropped due to opposition from civic groups. His career has no connection to research institutions, prompting criticism of a "parachute appointment" when he was named KIDA president. His term runs until July 2027, with approximately two years remaining.

Correction and Rebuttal Statement

This newspaper published articles titled "[Exclusive] KIDA President Kim Jung-soo Kept Workplace Harassment Quiet for Three Months... Attempted to 'Separate the Victim' [Lee Hyun-ho's Military! Talk]" on August 26, 2025, and "Defense Ministry Launches Audit of KIDA President Kim Jung-soo Over Workplace Harassment Cover-Up [Lee Hyun-ho's Military! Talk]" on September 7, 2025, in the Politics > Unification·Diplomacy·Security category of the Seoul Economic Daily website. Through these articles, this newspaper reported that "Team Leader B subjected Employee C to verbal abuse and profanity for nearly a year, controlling their private life in what amounted to gaslighting-level workplace harassment," and that "B pressured the grievance committee, threatening to file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission against President Kim for unfair personnel action and make it public if separation measures and personnel changes were enforced," using definitive expressions suggesting that Team Leader B was the perpetrator of workplace harassment against two different colleagues. Additionally, on November 25, 2025, this newspaper published an article titled "Defense Ministry Inspector General's Office Faces Criticism Over Inadequate Audit of KIDA Harassment Case [Lee Hyun-ho's Military! Talk]" stating that "(the workplace harassment perpetrator) took two weeks of leave during the audit period to avoid the audit" and "the team leader who caused the harassment incident took leave for the two weeks of the Defense Ministry audit, did not come to work, and avoided the audit."

However, fact-checking has revealed the following corrections:

① The team leader identified as B received notification from two separate KIDA Grievance Review Committee deliberations that the cases were found to "not constitute workplace harassment," meaning the workplace harassment allegations were not substantiated.

② It was confirmed that the team leader did not pressure the grievance committee by threatening to file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission against President Kim for unfair personnel action, nor did the team leader receive any persuasion from grievance committee members. Accordingly, the reports that the team leader was a workplace harassment perpetrator who gaslighted victims and improperly pressured the grievance committee are not factual.

③ The team leader voluntarily contacted the Defense Ministry inspector during their leave period and actively participated in interviews, cooperating with the audit process.

The team leader stated: "The reports were published without verifying the facts and are highly misleading. In reality, I received notification that the cases did 'not constitute workplace harassment,' confirming I never caused any harassment incident. I never made any statement at the grievance committee about filing a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission against President Kim, and I never avoided or improperly refused the audit process. I hope there will be no further misunderstanding from these inaccurate articles."

This correction is published in accordance with mediation by the Press Arbitration Commission.