Former labor activist found guilty of sexual assault

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the lower court`s ruling on a former senior executive of the nation`s No. 2 labor group for assisting a former union leader`s escape and for sexual assault.

Kim Sang-wan, a former high-ranking member of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was indicted last April for sexually assaulting a female member in December 2008.

Kim met the victim, a member of a progressive teachers` group affiliated with the KCTU, to discuss the arrest of the union`s former chairman Lee Suk-haeng. He followed her to her house and attempted to rape her.

Lee was arrested a day before the incident for organizing illegal protests against U.S. beef imports from May to June 2008.

Kim was also accused of providing the runaway leader with shelter, a car, and mobile phone.

"Kim has repeatedly attempted to rape the victim, despite her strong resistance," said the court in its ruling.

"He has also largely contributed to Lee`s escape by providing him with a hideaway."

Lee was handed down a suspended jail term by a lower court last March.

Over the sexual assault scandal, the KCTU largely lost public trust for allegedly losing its integrity as a labor activist group.

Following the victim`s report of the case, the union also launched an investigation and dismissed the attacker, but accepted his statement of being drunk at the time of the crime, without taking legal measures.

(tellme@heraldm.com)



By Bae Hyun-jung