A Seoul court upheld the Korea Immigration Service’s decision to permanently ban a Chinese businessman, who has a history of sexually harassing two Korean women employed by his company, from entering Korea.

The man who was investigated by the Korean prosecution in 2016 after two Korean female employees filed a complaint against him, claiming he sexually harassed them. The women worked as his secretary and a flight attendant on his private jet.

The prosecution acknowledged that the harassment took place, but eventually suspended his indictment after the Korean victims said they had reached a settlement and no longer wanted him to be punished.

Following the decision by the prosecution, the Incheon Immigration Office permanently banned the businessman’s entry into Korea, saying there was the potential that he would “threaten the safety and well-being of the general Korean public.”

The Chinese businessman filed a legal complaint against the decision, calling it unreasonable since his wrongdoings against the Korean women took place in China, and he did not have any criminal history prior to being investigated for sexual harassment of the two Korean women.

He also claimed that the entry ban would “negatively affect the South Korean economy,” as he had been planning to build a large luxury resort on Jeju Island, in collaboration with a Korean firm, and the project might not materialize if he is prohibited from entering the country.

However, the court said the Korea Immigration Service’s decision to prohibit his entry was a just decision, saying that the physical presence of the businessman might indeed compromise the well-being of Korean citizens as well as the national interest of South Korea.

The public good served by banning the businessman was greater than his private interests that would be violated as a result of the entry ban, the court said in the statement.

(dyc@heraldcorp.com)