By Chung Hyun-chae



The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) is investigating allegations that a woman who worked at a research institute affiliated with Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) committed suicide after she was sexually harassed by a male colleague.



The SMG is also looking into the allegations, saying that it will get to the bottom of the case.



The official surnamed Lim, 30, who began working at the Office of Waterworks in August 2013, committed suicide at home in May this year.



Her bereaved family members filed a complaint with the human rights agency in July 2014 that Lim took her own life due to suffering from severe depression after being sexually harassed by a male coworker during a company dinner.



They claimed that she had felt insulted by sexual remarks made by a senior official, identified as Chung, during an office outing in November last year.



Chung allegedly suggested that he and Lim look at nude photos together during the dinner then go to a motel with him afterward.



"The family presented past conversations on a mobile messenger service between the two as evidence," SMG official Kwon Tae-seob said.



According to Kwon, the document contains private conversations between Lim, her co-workers and friends that she was constantly stressed because of Chung's sexual advances.



Chung explained he didn't remember what he said to Lim because he was heavily drunk at that time.



Lim reported the incident to other senior officials after three months and Chung made a public apology for his unprofessional behavior.



But despite the formal complaints and even the public apology issued by Chung, no disciplinary actions have been taken.



Suffering from depression and receiving little help from her employers, Lim finally chose to kill herself in May.



Asked why the institutions belatedly began investigations, Kwon said that City Hall needed more time to collect further details of the case.



"As we cannot judge him by ourselves, we have decided to take counsel from the experts, heeding advice from lawyers and institutions, in properly dealing with sex crimes. We will submit related evidence such as KakaoTalk dialogues to these experts on Monday," Kwon said.



''The city government will soon announce the results of its investigation.''



