성희롱 소청심사 인용결정 영향요인: 인사혁신처 소청사례 분석(2019-2023)

Abstract

The #MeToo movement in 2018 significantly heightened public awareness of sexual harassment, underscoring the importance of protecting victims and ensuring fair and equitable handling of such cases. Despite this progress, in public sector organizations, disciplinary actions for sexual misconduct are often reduced or overturned during appeal reviews, perpetuating criticism of “lenient discipline." In this regard, this study examines 197 sexual harassment appeal cases reviewed by the Appeals Commission of the Ministry of Personnel Management from 2019 to 2023. The analysis explores factors influencing appeal outcomes, including the characteristics of the appellant and victim, the nature of the disciplinary action, criminal court rulings, and organizational climate. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed several statistically significant factors affecting appeal decisions: the appellant’s length of service and expression of remorse, the victim’s rank and gender, and the nature of the harassment — particularly physical incidents occurring during work hours or deemed accidental. However, the appeals review process appeared to undervalue victims' perspectives, with limited attention to their intent to seek disciplinary action or their post-incident circumstances. While physical harassment was given significant weight, verbal and visual harassment often received less consideration, suggesting an imbalance in the appeals review process. The findings also indicated that longer tenures and the submission of petitions by appellants significantly increased the likelihood of favorable appeal decisions. This underscores the influence of external factors, such as organizational climate and hierarchical status, on appeal outcomes. From a critical criminology perspective, appeal reviews for sexual harassment in public sector organizations appear to reinforce existing power structures and institutional biases. Based on the analysis results, the study recommends developing standardized appeal review criteria specifically tailored to sexual harassment cases in the public sector. Additionally, it highlights the need to revise the regulations to ensure that victims’ testimonies and perspectives are meaningfully integrated into the appeals review process.