Democratic Party's "Sore Finger" Busan... Adding Insult to Injury "Repeated Apologies, Reflection"

Lee In-young, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea achieved a landslide victory in the general election, but the Busan region remained a "sore spot." To make matters worse, the sexual harassment scandal involving former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don has become a negative factor causing local public sentiment to drift further away from the Democratic Party. This could also damage the momentum needed to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and push forward reform agendas. The United Future Party is launching fierce attacks, raising suspicions that the Democratic Party was aware of the issue before the general election. The Democratic Party has decided to expel former Mayor Oh, drawing a line by labeling it as a personal misconduct.

Lee In-young, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the Supreme Council meeting on the 24th, "The Democratic Party deeply apologizes to the victim, the citizens of Busan, and the public regarding the forced molestation case involving former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don," adding, "We feel an immensely heavy responsibility and will convene the Ethics Committee as soon as possible to ensure a firm and convincing disciplinary action." Disciplinary measures include warnings, suspension of party duties, suspension of party membership, but expulsion is the most severe and is expected to be confirmed.

Lee also stated, "We will strengthen gender sensitivity education for elected officials and take more fundamental and strict enforcement measures to prevent gender-based violence." Nam In-soon, a Supreme Council member, said, "We have repeatedly apologized whenever such incidents occurred. The repetition makes us reflect on whether we failed to properly address the issue after apologizing," and added, "We will form a task force (TF) to eradicate and prevent gender violence, conduct inspections, and prepare improvement measures."

According to the Public Official Election Act, by-elections must be held on the first Wednesday of April, so Busan's city administration will inevitably operate under an acting system for about a year. Coincidentally, on the 22nd, the prosecution demanded a five-year prison sentence and a fine of 47 million won for former Busan Deputy Mayor Yoo Jae-soo on bribery charges. Yoo, too, is a pro-government figure who served as a senior expert committee member of the Democratic Party. From the perspective of Busan citizens, resentment toward the Democratic Party is bound to grow. The Democratic Party held 6 out of 18 seats in Busan during the 20th National Assembly but regressed to 3 seats in the 21st general election.

Following the 'Me Too' scandal involving former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, the sexual misconduct controversy involving a local government head has been seen as pouring cold water on the Democratic Party's atmosphere of a sweeping victory in the general election. Shim Jae-chul, floor leader of the United Future Party, said, "Not only did he commit sexual harassment earlier this month and attempt to cover it up, but he also requested to delay his resignation until after the general election and even obtained notarization," adding, "(Former Mayor Oh's) apology and resignation are not the end of the matter. The fact that he resigned after the general election and that public authority was used to conceal the incident makes this a very serious case. We will consider all possible measures the party can take."

However, concerns about secondary damage have also been raised if the issue escalates into a political problem. Victim A stated in a press release the day before, "There was no external pressure or inducement from the political sphere, and this is completely unrelated to political calculations," and the Busan Sexual Violence Counseling Center, which received the victim's report, also denied the allegation that the resignation proposal was made after the general election.

Jeon Jae-soo, the Democratic Party Busan City Committee chairman and a member of the National Assembly, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "I only heard about it via a phone call on the morning of the 23rd, just before former Mayor Oh expressed his intention to resign," adding, "It is very shocking and I apologize to the public and citizens. However, there should be no secondary damage caused by political attacks claiming that the Democratic Party knew about it in advance."

Nam In-soon, Democratic Party Supreme Council member, also emphasized, "When the political sphere raises or expands the issue with a political frame unrelated to the facts of the case, it constitutes secondary harm."

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