8 of 15 dismissals in past 5 years involved sexual misconduct

Lawmaker Lee Ki-heon calls for stronger victim protection

Korea International Cooperation Agency headquarters. [Yonhap]
Korea International Cooperation Agency headquarters. [Yonhap]

Sexual misconduct has accounted for more than half of all dismissals from the Korea International Cooperation Agency's overseas volunteer program, which receives an average annual budget of 73.9 billion won ($54 million), newly released data shows. Of the 15 volunteers stripped of their status over the past five years, eight were dismissed for sexual misconduct. Six of those eight had been working in the education sector at their postings.

The figures come from data that Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Ki-heon, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, obtained from KOICA and made public Thursday. According to the data, 1,890 volunteers were dispatched overseas between 2022 and August 2026. Of those, 130 withdrew early due to personal circumstances, difficulty adjusting to local conditions or health problems, while 15 had their volunteer status revoked for reasons including poor performance and sexual misconduct.

Sexual misconduct made up the majority of revocations. Eight volunteers lost their status for inappropriate physical contact or sexual harassment. Three of the eight were repeat participants who had previously served in overseas volunteer programs.

In one specific case, a volunteer dispatched to Colombia in 2022 was dismissed in April 2024 after making inappropriate remarks, including "I'm going to find a girlfriend in Colombia" and "Stay the night at my place — come live with me."

Another volunteer sent to Laos last year repeatedly asked students personal questions unrelated to education — including whether they were married, whether they had dating experience and whether they planned to have children. The volunteer was also found to have made comments suggesting he was looking for a marriage partner, and lost his status in June this year.

Observers have noted that the overseas nature of the program makes it harder to monitor volunteers' conduct continuously compared with domestic postings, and have called for more effective oversight. There are also concerns that victims may find it difficult to raise complaints immediately, given that small groups of volunteers often live and work together in the same local environment.

"KOICA volunteers are dispatched in the name of the Republic of Korea and interact directly with local communities, so inappropriate conduct cannot be dismissed as mere individual wrongdoing," Lee said. "It is a serious matter that can damage our country's standing and credibility, and severe service violations including sexual misconduct must be dealt with firmly."

Lee also weighed in on a recent rise in emergency passport issuances overseas, saying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should not treat the trend as a simple statistic. "It could be an early warning sign that the safety of our citizens abroad is at risk," he said, urging the ministry to closely monitor regions where issuances have surged and take necessary safety measures.


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