The country’s leading private university is in hot water amid lingering charges of sexual abuse that have gravely damaged its reputation.

Police announced Wednesday that they were investigating a Korea University student for sexually harassing some 19 women, most of whom attend the same school.

The news came only months after the university fired a professor who was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct.

The 25-year-old male student, whose name was not revealed, is accused of secretly taking photos and videos of women at locations such as the campus grounds and lecture rooms between 2011 and March 2013.

He is also believed to have sexually assaulted intoxicated female students. The case first came to light after a friend of the suspect found a CD-ROM in his room containing images and videos of the women, and reported it to the university. The school filed a complaint with the police of Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul.

Police have secured his computer hard disks and will soon question the student, who is currently taking time off from school for his compulsory military service.

The university apologized Wednesday to the female students and said it would no longer tolerate any form of sexual harassment.

“We’re considering severe punishment, including expulsion. We will decide following the police investigation,” an official from the school said.

The school in May fired a business professor for sexually harassing students. He also allegedly took photos of women in short skirts with a camera hidden in his wrist watch.

Two years ago, the school was also the target of public outrage after a group of its medical school students was charged for sexually assaulting one female student on a trip.

Meanwhile, the sports community is also mired in sexual harassment allegations lodged against a national weightlifting team coach. Oh Seung-woo, 55, is accused of sexually harassing female weightlifters while offering them massages after training. Oh denies the allegation.

The Korea Weightlifting Federation said it would bar him from entering the national training center while the case is under investigation.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)