A nurse working at Seoul National University Hospital, one of the largest and most prestigious hospitals in Korea, quit her job after the hospital’s medical professor allegedly sexually assaulted her, according to colleagues of the professor who revealed such a claim to the media Thursday.

The claim was made by 12 professors of Seoul National University’s Medical College who said their colleague “committed inappropriate sexual acts against the university’s medical students and hospital staff” and that he “prescribed excessively large amounts of painkillers” that are highly addictive. 

The claim came amid a series of sexual allegations against prominent figures which has shocked the country, including progressive governor of South Chungcheong Province An Hee-jung, who stepped down after a woman alleged that he had raped her multiple times.

The case at Seoul National University Hospital is the first sexual assault case reported by the medical profession since the #MeToo movement gained traction in Korea.

According to the report released by the fellow professors, the alleged offender -- whose real name has not been revealed -- sexually harassed nursing staff at a workshop held in 2013. One of the nursing staff moved to another hospital after feeling harassed by the professor and later quit her nursing career.

The professor’s inappropriate verbal abuse continued in 2014 against female clinical lecturers, nurses, students and researchers on several different occasions. The cases were reported to the hospital but no disciplinary measures were taken against the professor, the report claims.

One of the 12 professors who wrote the report said they decided to take action for the victims because the hospital “showed no effort to fix it even amid the #MeToo movement,” a mental health professor told local Yonhap News Agency.

The alleged offender has denied any wrongdoing, questioning the intent of publicly making such allegations, according to the news report.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)