David Kang (59), the Director of the USC Korean Studies Institute and a professor at the university, has been sued by a female Korean student for alleged sexual assault.
The student, identified as Kim in the lawsuit, claims that she was effectively dismissed from her position as a research assistant after rejecting Professor Kang’s sexual advances and inappropriate remarks.
According to City News Service, citing the lawsuit filed in the LA Superior Court, Kim is suing both Professor Kang and USC for charges including sexual discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation, sexual assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
Professor Kang, who is also a tenured professor in the School of International Relations and Political Science at USC, is widely recognized as an expert on Korean Peninsula issues.
The lawsuit states that in November 2021, Professor Kang invited Kim to lunch and subsequently hired her as his research assistant. It was then that the alleged sexual harassment began.
Kim claims in the lawsuit that Professor Kang made it clear that her research assistant duties would include “doing stuff for him.” The lawsuit details incidents where Professor Kang allegedly touched her hair, commenting that he used to have hair as black as hers, slapped her buttocks with a rolled-up piece of paper, and instructed her and other Ph.D. students to watch a movie, the plot of which include a teacher having an affair with his students.
Kim also alleges that Professor Kang asked her to accompany his daughter on shopping trips in Korea because he found it difficult to buy sanitary pads for her, stating that his children needed a “mother figure.” Although she initially resisted, she claims to have felt pressured to comply with his demands.
Eventually, Kim sent an email objecting to Professor Kang’s behavior. While Professor Kang offered a formal apology, he soon began to belittle her Ph.D. thesis and pressured her to find a new advisor unless she was “willing to amend” their relationship.
The lawsuit further alleges that at least three students and employees experienced sexual harassment or assault because they were of Asian or Korean descent.
The plaintiff also accuses USC of covering up the incident. The lawsuit claims that USC portrayed Professor Kang as a trustworthy and honest mentor while attempting to conceal the fact that they had employed a sexual predator. The temporary suspension imposed on Professor Kang during the ongoing “Title IX” investigation was, according to the lawsuit, merely a “sham.”
Title IX is a federal law that protects students from sexual harassment and assault in educational institutions.
In response to the lawsuit, a USC spokesperson stated, “The university takes reports of sexual harassment and discrimination very seriously and has a comprehensive process for investigating them. We are reviewing the lawsuit in detail.”
The Korea Daily attempted multiple times to contact Professor Kang via email and phone for his comments, but as of 6:00 p.m. on August 28, there has been no response.
David Kang is a distinguished scholar who graduated from Stanford University and UC Berkeley and previously taught at Dartmouth College. He has served as the Director of the USC Korean Studies Institute since 2009 and is known for his expertise on the Korean Peninsula, having authored the book “Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement.”
BY YOONJAE JUNG, YOUNGNAM KIM [jung.yoonjae@koreadaily.com]
