South Korea’s Me Too drive gains strength
SEOUL – Feminism is a relatively new concept in South Korea, but the Me Too movement has taken root — much like in the United States — with high-profile politicians and entertainment figures toppling as sexual assault survivors come forward.
One of the key people in the growing movement here is a cheery lawyer named Lee Eun-eui, 44. When she was a worker at Samsung a decade ago, Lee took the tech giant to court after she complained about unwelcome touching by a supervisor. She won — a stunning verdict in 2010.
Lee said she was barely aware of the term “sexual harassment” when she resisted her boss’ advances. “He told me I was not good enough as a female employee, that I didn’t have what it takes,” Lee said.
She was then ostracized at work, passed over for promotion and given
poor evaluations. So she filed the lawsuit against South Korea’s largest company and was awarded $34,000.
Lee decided to change careers and entered law school. In 2015, she set up her own practice, knowing most law firms wouldn’t hire a whistle-blower. “I am kind of a dangerous woman, so nobody wants me,” she said, laughing.
Lee intended to focus on labor disputes, but her Samsung trial and the
2015 book she wrote about the experience quickly made her a magnet for women who wanted to file sexual harassment claims. About 70% of her cases focus on harassment and sexual violence, such as a client who accused K-pop superstar Park Yuchun of rape.
“When I worked at Samsung in international marketing, I thought that was my calling,” she said. “But after I became a lawyer, I realized I was very good at fighting.”
Still, it wasn’t until late January
2018 that South Korea’s Me Too movement took off. A female prosecutor, Seo Ji-hyun, said in a televised interview that she was sexually harassed by a senior Justice Ministry official. Her interview galvanized public support and forced an investigation.
Since then, dozens of powerful public figures have been swept up in the movement. Gov. Ahn Hee-jung of South Chungcheong province, considered a rising star with presidential aspirations, stepped down in early March after he was accused of rape by his secretary, Kim Ji-eun. He says their sexual encounters were consensual.
In the entertainment industry, filmmaker Kim Ki-duk and Lee Youn-taek, former artistic director of the National Theater of Korea, were each charged with rape.
Poet Ko Un, a prominent literary figure in South Korea and considered a potential Nobel Prize recipient, was accused of sexual harassment, leading to his poems being removed from textbooks. On March 9, television actor Jo Min-ki committed suicide after multiple accusations against him.
The rapid rise of the Me Too movement is a dramatic change for South Korea, a society that has held on to strong patriarchal traditions even while becoming a modern economic and technological powerhouse.
Its growth gives many young women a sense of optimism about entering the workforce. “I’m hoping it will have an impact on the ordinary working world, not only for victims in the spotlight,” said Sohn Chae-yoon, 26, a pharmacy student in Seoul.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in spoke in support of the Me Too movement in February. “We should take this opportunity, however embarrassing and painful, to reveal the reality and find a solution,” he said.
Women make up more than 30% of the president’s Cabinet, the most in South Korean history, and his government has announced measures to impose stricter penalties on sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Lee, the lawyer, said the movement is allowing women to speak out: “Korean society is not used to hearing the stories from the victim’s point of view,” she said. “But now it’s happening.”