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[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The United Future Party has decided to file charges against former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, who resigned due to a sexual harassment incident involving an employee.


The 'Democratic Party Sexual Crime Investigation Team' within the United Future Party held a meeting at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 3rd and decided to file charges against former Mayor Oh for abuse of authority, sexual harassment through workplace power, and violations of the Public Official Election Act.


Investigation Team Leader Kwak Sang-do stated, "If former Mayor Oh and the Busan City Hall officials under his supervision used their positions to induce a settlement agreement to prevent political incidents that could influence the 21st National Assembly election from being disclosed externally before the election, it clearly violates the prohibition of influence by public officials," adding, "We intend to file charges to clearly reveal the allegations."


Yoo Sang-beom, a former chief prosecutor and elected member, pointed out, "In sexual harassment cases, victim settlements are criminal matters. It is not the Busan mayor's duty but a personal matter," and added, "Only a lawyer should handle settlements, and a subordinate employee of Busan City Hall cannot perform that task on their behalf."


He continued, "If former Mayor Oh instructed a subordinate to carry out settlement tasks despite it not being his duty, this clearly constitutes abuse of authority."


The United Future Party also criticized Busan City for neglecting victim protection.


Jeon Ju-hye, a proportional representative elected member and secretary of the investigation committee, said, "A thorough investigation must be conducted regarding when Busan City became aware of the sexual harassment and whether the response afterward was appropriate, and measures will be taken accordingly," adding, "According to the materials released so far, Busan City has a sexual harassment grievance reporting center, but it appears that no reports have been filed with this center."



Team Leader Kwak stated immediately after the meeting, "We plan to file the charges as soon as preparations are complete tomorrow."


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

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