South Korean President Li Jae-myeong issued a warning to South Korean public officials on the 15th, asking them not to arrange for young individuals of the opposite sex to sit next to them during gatherings and parties. He stated that such practices could constitute an insult to personal dignity and must be completely changed.
According to the South Korean newspaper 'Korea Daily News', Lee Jae-myung said after presiding over a report on economic department work at the Cheong Wa Dae guesthouse on that day: 'It's okay to drink and have fun, but don't let young people sit next to each other.'
He emphasized that these words “hope to be heard by all public servants in Korea”. Lee Jae-myung pointed out that “it seems that such situations still occasionally occur in the Korean public service sector”. It is “irrational” to treat young people as “entertainment objects” at drinking parties.
In October last year, after the death of a 20-year-old female firefighter in South Korea, government investigations revealed that she had been asked to sit next to her male superior during drinking gatherings. It is believed that Lee Jae-myung’s speech was directed at this incident, calling for improvements in the culture of public service organizations.
"This attitude and mindset is itself a mockery of human dignity," Li Zai Ming said, "this concept must be eradicated now."
He stated that some past practices “may not have been considered problematic at the time, but they now lead to serious consequences”. He urged public officials to pay special attention to related issues. “For me, it may seem like a minor issue, but society does not view it in the same light. This is an extremely serious problem.”
