By Kim Bo-eun



The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Tuesday ministries or local governments to which agencies are affiliated will deal with sexual harassment cases involving executive-level personnel.



A plan to hold the chief of an agency accountable in cases where the organization discriminates against a victim of sexual harassment is also under review.



These are part of measures unveiled by ministries covering 17,211 agencies to prevent sexual harassment in the public sector.



"The measures have been drawn up for the public sector to take the lead in countering sexual harassment within the workplace, which has become an issue of late," Gender Equality Minister Chung Hyun-back said in a briefing at the Seoul Government Complex.



"They are aimed at improving the system of supervision, in order to prevent organizations from not taking action or trying to cover up reports for fear of damaging their reputation, and to prevent secondary damage to victims and reporters."



Under the plan, government agencies will be required to submit reports not only to the gender equality ministry but also the ministry it is affiliated to, on how it has dealt with sexual harassment cases and measures drawn up to prevent them from occurring. This will be included in the agencies' evaluations.



Measures will also be stepped up for victims.



When victims make a request, they will be able to be separated from the offender, by being relocated to different departments or taking leave.



The measure will aim to take measures for those spreading rumors as a means to prevent secondary damage coming from reports.



Regulations on disciplinary action for government employees will be revised so that punitive measures for sexual harassment are strengthened to the level of sexual assault. This means offenders who had faced pay cuts may face suspension.



Punishment for such offenses will be taken into account in personnel and performance evaluations.



At the same time, the government will seek to boost participation in preventative education.



If the chief of the agency does not attend the session, or the rate of attendance among senior-level officials is less than 50 percent, the agency will be labeled as poorly performing, which will be made public, and staff there will have to undergo special training sessions.



These will be created for agency heads, counselors and investigators.



Agencies will be required to set up online report centers and develop a detailed manual on dealing with sexual harassment that should be placed at a visible spot within the workplace.



Meanwhile, the ministry, which will conduct a survey into sexual harassment every three years, will launch a special investigation into reports at 4,946 workplaces in the public sector by 2019.

