A South Korean military investigation has determined that a female officer who committed suicide last October allegedly because of repeated sexual harassment died while on active duty. She will be buried at the Daejeon National Cemetery, where military personnel are laid to rest, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.
The 28-year-old female officer, only identified by her last name Oh, was found dead Oct. 16, 2013, inside a car in a parking lot in Hwacheon. She reportedly killed herself by burning charcoal in thevehicle.
Oh’s diary, notes and suicide letter indicated that verbal and sexual harassment from a commanding officer took its toll on her after 10 months, during which she said she was groped and verbally abused, authorities said. She wrote in her suicide note that her superior, whose last name was Noh, demanded that she spends “one night with him.”
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The note also said that, when Oh rejected Noh, he punished her by making her work overtime, touching her inappropriately and harassing her with suggestive remarks. The case helped raise the profile of the issue of sexual harassment in the South Korean military. Although Noh was indicted last November on charges of sexual harassment, the court only sentenced him to two years in prison, and four years probation—a verdict Oh’s family and many in the public considered too light.
Investigators said that at least six other female officers were also harassed by Noh last year, and three of them have pressed charges against him, the newspaper reported.
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