Criticism is mounting against a private high school in Ulsan and education authorities for allegedly covering up an on-campus sexual violence case and failing to protect victims from secondary harm.
The Ulsan Women's Association held a press conference on Feb. 26, demanding that "the school foundation immediately dismiss the perpetrator and impose severe disciplinary action against the irresponsible principal."
A senior teacher identified as Mr. A at the private school is under police investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting two fixed-term contract teachers at the same school from late 2024 through September of last year.
The school became aware of the incident around October last year. The case was made public through media coverage following a press conference by women's groups on Jan. 12. The Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education requested Mr. A's dismissal and severe disciplinary action against the principal from the school foundation on Jan. 23. Standard regulations require disciplinary proceedings for sexual misconduct to be completed within 30 days.
However, the foundation's board of directors did not notify the school of the education office's request until around Feb. 6, and the deadline was extended to March 8 citing the holiday period. The school convened a disciplinary committee on Feb. 13, but reportedly failed to reach a decision.
An inspector from the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education explained, "The school held a disciplinary committee meeting on Feb. 13, but no decision was made due to legal procedural reasons. We have been informed that the committee will reconvene on March 1."
The women's association condemned the delay, stating, "Stop this cowardly behavior of hiding behind the Private School Act to postpone disciplinary action. This cruel treatment buys time for the perpetrator while prolonging the victims' suffering."
Meanwhile, the victims have left Ulsan. Statements from the two victimized teachers were released at the press conference. Victim B, who said she "had to flee Ulsan as if running away" after the assault, raised serious questions about the fairness of the disciplinary process.
"The school says it will form a disciplinary committee through the board of directors, but I understand the board consists of the perpetrator's former classmates and family members with special relationships through past marriage ties," victim B said. "A disciplinary process without guaranteed objectivity and independence will only inflict another wound."
Victim C revealed the complete absence of protective measures for victims, stating, "While the perpetrator continues to enter and exit the school without any restrictions, the staff room password was changed, preventing me from freely retrieving my belongings left at the school."
Cases of secondary victimization disclosed by the Ulsan Women's Association last month were equally disturbing. The association claimed that "when the victims courageously reported what happened, the school attempted to silence them by saying 'keep coming to school' and 'don't spread rumors' instead of immediately separating them from the perpetrator." The group also alleged that one administrator told a victim, "There's no woman who goes through life without experiencing something like this."