Democratic Party Initiates Expulsion Procedure for Oh Keo-don over Sexual Misconduct

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Kang Nahum and Won Dara] The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to expel Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, who resigned after sexually harassing his secretary.

Yoon Ho-jung, Secretary-General of the Democratic Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 23rd and stated, "We have maintained a zero-tolerance policy regardless of rank or position in cases of sexual misconduct," adding, "In Mayor Oh’s case, we will immediately initiate disciplinary procedures under the same principle."

He said, "Today, I deeply apologize to the public for Mayor Oh’s resignation during his term due to this unfortunate incident," and added, "We also sincerely apologize to the citizens of Busan for the inevitable administrative gap this will cause."

Earlier, Mayor Oh held a press conference that morning and announced his sudden resignation from the mayoral office. He said, "Recently, during a five-minute meeting with a female public official, there was unnecessary physical contact," and added, "Bearing such wrongdoing, it is not right for me to continue serving as the mayor entrusted to me by the great citizens of Busan."

After the press conference, Secretary-General Yoon responded to reporters’ questions about whether the party was aware of Mayor Oh’s misconduct by saying, "The party was completely unaware of Mayor Oh’s resignation. We received a call from the Busan City Party this morning, and the primary report was that the reason for the resignation involved a female issue."

Regarding criticism that Mayor Oh kept the matter secret until before the general election, Secretary-General Yoon said, "I am not sure how Mayor Oh judged the situation," and added, "The Busan City Party said the victim’s psychological state was very unstable, so it was more urgent to stabilize her at a counseling center."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.