A soldier who insulted his superior in front of his colleagues was demoted... Law “Excessive Disposition”

A soldier who sexually harassed his superior received a ‘demotion’ and filed a lawsuit for cancellation… “Said only once with an ambiguous meaning”
The court said, “Considering that it was committed once…demotion, which is the most severe punishment, violates the principle of proportionality.”

The court ruled that demotion to fellow soldiers for insulting their superiors once was excessive.

According to the legal community on the 20th, the 2nd and 3rd administrative divisions of the Uijeongbu District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the suit to cancel the demotion filed by Mr. A, a man in his 20s, against an army official on the 30th of last month.

Mr. A was demoted last year for sexually harassing two superiors in front of fellow soldiers in 2022 while he was serving in the military.

However, Mr. A filed an appeal, claiming that the disposition was not legal. He did not commit an insult by referring to a specific person, and only spoke once in an ambiguous expression.

The military, which reviewed the case, dismissed it, and Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit in court.

In response, the military countered that the filing of the lawsuit itself was illegal because Mr. A had already been discharged from the military. It was also emphasized that there was no coercive investigation and that Mr. A had made insulting remarks by specifying the names of the victims.

The court ultimately ruled in Mr. A's favor. First, the court judged Mr. A's lawsuit to be lawful, saying, "The plaintiff received a reduced salary from the time he was demoted until he was discharged," and "If the disposition is canceled, it can be seen that he can receive compensation for the financial disadvantage."

He added, "The degree of misconduct in which he committed sexual insults while mentioning the names of the victims in some of the plaintiff's remarks cannot be said to be light," but added, "Considering that he only committed it once in the presence of soldiers, demotion, which is the most severe disciplinary action, is excessive and violates the principle of proportionality."

Attorney Heo Seong-guk of the Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "The disciplinary committee determined that there were aggravated grounds for reasons such as 'severe sexual humiliation' and 'multiple harassment at the same opportunity,'" and added, "However, since Mr. A's remarks only occurred once, we were able to obtain a favorable ruling by emphasizing that 'the sexual words and actions were only a one-time occurrence' and constituted a mitigating factor."

Reporter Seohyun Lee (sunshine@kyeonggi.com)

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A soldier who insulted his superior in front of his colleagues was demoted... Law “Excessive Disposition” (Shortcut)