Court acquits company head of groping charge over handshake palm-scratching

Scratching someone's palm with a finger during a handshake may constitute sexual harassment if it causes the other person distress, but it does not amount to forced indecent assault, a court has ruled.

According to legal sources Monday, Judge Lee Jae-wook of the Ulsan District Court's Criminal Division 3 acquitted A, the head of a company in Ulsan, of forced indecent assault charges.

A was indicted on charges of scratching the palm of B, a female employee he was meeting for the first time, multiple times with his fingers during a handshake at a labor union office in March last year, and of cupping and stroking the back of her hand.

After A left the office, B searched online for the meaning of the palm-scratching gesture and, feeling considerable discomfort, told a colleague who had been present.

Upon learning of this, A visited B the following day to apologize but was subsequently indicted on the forced indecent assault charge.

The court found that while A's conduct had aspects that could constitute sexual harassment, it could not be considered a forcible indecent act.

Scratching the palm during a handshake, the court said, is a nonverbal expression of sexual intent, and cupping and stroking the back of the hand goes beyond a normal handshake — but neither rose to the level of coercion or sexual violence.

"From B's perspective, the behavior could feel very unpleasant and constitute sexual harassment," the court said in explaining its acquittal. "However, witness accounts indicate the handshake was not unusually prolonged, nor was there any other notable behavior."