Air Force Officer Loses Lawsuit Falsely Claiming 1-Month Suspension for Indecent Assault on Colleague's Girlfriend Was Unjust

An Air Force officer who forcibly groped a colleague's girlfriend at a drinking gathering filed a lawsuit to overturn his disciplinary suspension, but he lost the case.

The Cheongju District Court recently ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Air Force Captain A seeking the cancellation of a disciplinary action against the commander of the 19th Fighter Wing.

Captain A, who worked as a pilot at the 19th Fighter Wing, was initially dismissed for forcibly touching the body of Ms. C, the girlfriend of colleague Captain B, at the unit's quarters in 2024. He subsequently filed an appeal, which reduced his punishment to a one-month suspension.

Investigations revealed that on the day of the incident, Captain A was drinking with Captain B and others. When Captain B fell asleep, Captain A dragged Ms. C to an adjacent room and forcibly touched her body, injuring her in the process.

Captain A argued that the disciplinary action should be canceled because he had no intention of sexually assaulting Ms. C and because Ms. C did not want him to be punished.

However, the court stated, "The plaintiff was hugging Ms. C when he was caught by Captain B, who woke up upon hearing Ms. C's screams, and multiple injuries were found on Ms. C's body." The court added, "It is recognized that the plaintiff, at the very least, exercised physical force against the victim's will to commit indecent assault."

The court also noted, "Although the victim submitted a statement expressing a desire not to have the perpetrator punished, this merely meant she did not want the incident to become known, not that the indecent assault did not occur." It concluded, "The one-month suspension against the plaintiff cannot be considered excessive."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Ryu Ji-su | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.