“‘Would you sleep with me?’ vs. ‘Let’s work well together’: Controversy over alleged sexual harassment of a trainee female officer”

[Financial News] Allegations have emerged that a senior police officer at a police substation in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, made sexually suggestive remarks to a junior female patrol officer undergoing training, but the parties involved have given conflicting accounts.
According to News1 and Newsis on the 22nd, earlier this month a patrol officer in their 20s, identified as A, assigned to a substation under the jurisdiction of Pohang Bukbu Police Station allegedly called B, a trainee patrol officer in her 20s, while on duty and said, “Would you like to sleep with me?”
A was a senior officer who had been appointed about a year before B. A is understood to have called the substation from the scene after responding to a report involving an elderly person with dementia.
B claimed that A made sexually harassing remarks. A, however, reportedly denied the allegation during questioning, saying that the intended phrase was “do well” rather than “sleep.”
The call lasted about 11 seconds, and no recording is believed to exist. A fellow officer who responded with A reportedly did not hear the contents of the call firsthand either.
An allegation was also raised that A had routinely abused their authority over B, but the police judged it to be a routine conflict that arose in the course of work-related guidance. The explanation was that a misunderstanding appears to have arisen while the junior officer was being guided to learn the job quickly.
A police official said, “The two have given conflicting accounts, and without a recording of the call, it is difficult to conclude that this was sexual harassment,” adding, “Neither wanted to make the issue public, so we adjusted their shifts. Measures are now in place to ensure they do not work the same shift.”
[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter