On August 18, a male actor, called Mr. A, was sentenced by the court for having sexually attacked a colleague an actress, Mrs. B, on several occasions during filming. The case aroused widespread outrage online and raised discussions on safety and consent on the set.
According to reports, Mrs. B, at the end of the 1940s, reported the accidents to the authorities after two sessions of shots separate in 2022. The scenes were part of a project to train an artificial intelligence program and did not require excessive physical contact.
The first accident occurred in November 2022 in a minimarket scene. Mr. A had agreed to hit Mrs. B’s shoulder to simulate a slap, but instead had hit his right breast. Despite the complaint of Mrs. B to the director, the filming continued due to the pressure on the set.
A month later, during the shooting in the nursing home, Mrs. B explicitly asked that a shoulder, not her collar. Once again, presumably touched his right breast. Mrs. B immediately ended her shooting and filed a formal complaint of sexual harassment.
Throughout the process, Mr. A denied all the accusations. However, the Court rejected his requests, based on video tests analyzed by the National Forensic Service and the producer’s statements.
The Court established that Mr. A’s actions were deliberated and constituted sexual harassment and sexual violence pursuant to the artist Act. The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has also issued a corrective order that requires an eight hours of training to prevent sexual harassment.
In a separate criminal trial, Mr. A was declared guilty of forced indecent aggression and sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for a year.
The verdict drew strong reactions from the Netizen, many of whom expressed disgust for the assault and criticized the media coverage for revealing the victim’s age while keeping the author’s identity private.
- “The acting is focused on coordination, therefore such actions without consent are definitely sexual harassment.”
- “Why don’t they reveal the author’s identity instead?”
This case underlines the importance of consent and professional boundaries on cinematographic sets and serves as a reminder that a bad conduct deliberate will not be tolerated pursuant to the Korean law.
Sources: Koreaboo, Lawtalk News
