Former Korean Singer Is Fined For Sexually Harassing His Employee
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Former singer and reporter Kim Wang Bae has been fined for workplace sexual harassment against an employee of his company. He filed an appeal, expressing dissatisfaction with the court’s decision.
Kim Wang Bae is best known as the former reporter for MBC‘s variety show Section TV and a former member of the K-Pop trio Boyslip. He is currently the CEO of the health and beauty company WB Skin.
It was reported that Kim Wang Bae was convicted in July of sexually harassing an employee, A, who works at his company. On July 19, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim Wang Bae to a fine of ₩3.00 million KRW (about $2,270 USD) for sexual harassment and ordered him to complete 40 hours of sexual violence therapy. However, there were no orders to disclose personal information or restrict employment.
The incident dates back to July 19 when Kim Wang Bae allegedly forced A to sit next to him in a karaoke room near Konkuk University Station in Seoul. He allegedly held her hand and hugged her shoulders. When A tried to leave, he waited for her behind the karaoke room door.
When A returned to the room, he allegedly grabbed her wrist and sexually harassed her. Despite A expressing her refusal, Kim Wang Bae reportedly used physical force by punching her private areas and grabbing her waist.
Kim Wang Bae has denied the allegations of sexual harassment and appealed the first verdict on July 22.
A former employee of WB Skin, however, shared with Wikitree what Kim Wang Bae was like as the CEO of the company.
Kim Wang Bae was very domineering within the company. He would use abusive language and insults towards employees. He smoked in the office and created a fearful atmosphere with pressure on performance.
— Former WB Skin employee
In October, Kim Wang Bae was summoned as a witness in a parliamentary audit due to workplace harassment incidents but failed to attend. The National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee criticized him for acts of harassment, calling him a “vicious person” and stating “such actions are unacceptable in 21st-century South Korea.”
Regarding the ₩100 million KRW (about $75,800 USD) bail Kim Wang Bae posted, despite not reaching an agreement with A on the sexual harassment charges, the legislator criticized it as an attempt to seek leniency through bail and an abuse of the criminal bail system.
Kim Wang Bae went on the MBC audition program Akdong Club in 2001 and later debuted as a member of Boyslip.
After many years of inactivity in the entertainment industry, he founded WB Skin in 2017. WB Skin recorded sales of around ₩60.0 million KRW (about $45,500 USD) in the previous year. His position as CEO has recently been removed from the company, possibly due to the recent incident.
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