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BAI seeks probe into sexual assault cover-up by Gokseong county chief

Published: 19 Sep. 2025, 17:58

[JOONGANG ILBO]

The state auditor said Friday that it has requested a prosecutorial investigation into former Gokseong County chief Yoo Geun-gi for covering up a sexual assault case and failing to protect the victim, which led to further assaults.

In its regular audit of the county, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said Yoo told officials of the South Jeolla county to accept the perpetrator’s resignation and to suppress the case rather than report it to police or take protective measures.

According to the audit, the victim, a newly hired public servant, was sexually assaulted by a colleague in 2021, less than a month after starting the job.

The perpetrator resigned without disciplinary action, received a severance payment of 18 million won ($13,000) and was later handed a two-year prison sentence. The perpetrator has not compensated the victim.

The county returned the victim to their original department without providing protection, where the employee faced sexual harassment, bullying and verbal abuse from another colleague. In 2024, the victim suffered an attempted rape at a public health center by a different employee who is now on trial.

Some county officials blamed the victim for the incident, saying, "You should have been more careful."

The parents of the first perpetrator also pressured the victim to settle. The BAI said this failure to protect the victim contributed to repeated victimization.

The victim later reported fraudulent allowance payments by a sanitation worker but was exposed, pressured to withdraw her complaint and ostracized.

The BAI called for the dismissal, demotion, suspension or other disciplinary action against eight officials involved in the cover-up or corruption. It also issued warnings to the county government and council.

The audit also uncovered unrelated irregularities, including improper performance reviews and promotions, an official taking an overseas trip while on sick leave and lax oversight of forest land use and farmland management.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]