Police Request Pretrial Detention Warrant for Former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don over Sexual Harassment of Female Employee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The police have requested a pre-arrest warrant for former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, who is accused of sexually harassing a female subordinate employee.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 28th that they had applied for a pre-arrest warrant against former Mayor Oh on charges of forcible sexual assault. The prosecution is expected to review the pre-arrest warrant requested by the police and file it with the court.

According to the police, former Mayor Oh is accused of calling a subordinate employee to his office during working hours in early last month and sexually harassing her. The female victim reported the incident to the Busan Sexual Violence Counseling Center, and on the 23rd of last month, former Mayor Oh held a press conference to resign and admitted to the sexual harassment.

Initially, the police considered applying charges under the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes for sexual harassment using work-related authority against former Mayor Oh. However, after the investigation, they secured substantial evidence suggesting circumstances beyond simple harassment using his position, and thus applied charges of forcible sexual assault and requested the pre-arrest warrant on the same day.

Sexual harassment using work-related authority is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 15 million won, whereas forcible sexual assault, which involves violence or threats, is punishable by up to ten years in prison or a fine of up to 15 million won.

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