Celltrion found itself embroiled in a controversial situation afters CEO Seo Jung-jin resolved a sexual harassment case irrationally by allegedly causing additional suffering to the victim.

Celltrion CEO Seo Jung-jin서정진

Seo allegedly forth a sexual harassment victim and forced her to speak in front of hundreds of other employees causing her to relive the painful situation.

Celltrion셀트리온 in an interview with The Korea Biomedical Review on Friday, refuted the allegation saying that the meeting was not intended to cause more harm to the female employee but to help her.

“The case had already been resolved before the meeting had taken place,” said a company official. “Seo made her take the stand in the meeting so that he could put mislead rumors to an end, which had been circulating in the company causing additional suffering to the victim.”

The incident had also been previously agreed upon between Seo and the employee and had not been coerced, the official added.

The victim is known to have recently had a dinner with a male executive to talk about problems in the workplace. However, the meeting was extended until 5 a.m. the next day. After the incident, the employee informed her office that although there were no physical contacts, she had been in a very uncomfortable situation and requested a transfer.

After receiving the complaint, the company relocated the woman and punished the executive with a six-month wage cut.

Celltrion won the gender equality excellence award from the Ministry of Employment and Labor in 2007.

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