Women in Their 20s and 30s Outraged by Moon's Condolence Wreath at Ahn Heejung's Mother's Funeral... "I Am Jieun Kim" Becomes Bestseller

The book "I Am Jieun Kim" by Jieun Kim, published last March (Bomalarm). Photo by Bomalarm

[Asia Economy, reporter Kim Suwan] As President Moon Jaein sent a condolence wreath to the funeral of former South Chungcheong Governor Ahn Heejung's mother and other figures from the ruling bloc continued to pay their respects, a movement to purchase the book by Jieun Kim, who exposed Ahn's sexual assault, has spread among women in their 20s and 30s who are angered by these actions. Critics argue that such condolences are inappropriate given that former Governor Ahn is currently serving a sentence on charges of sexual assault.

The book "I Am Jieun Kim" documents the 544-day journey from March 5, 2018, when Kim, who was then Ahn's secretary, revealed her experience of sexual violence to the public, until September 9, 2019, when the Supreme Court delivered a final guilty verdict against Ahn.

On July 8, numerous posts certifying the purchase of the book, along with the hashtag '#IAmJieunKim,' appeared on social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter.

Additionally, "I Am Jieun Kim" has become a bestseller on online bookstores. On July 7, it ranked 6th overall and 1st in the social sciences category on Aladin. At Kyobo Bookstore, it topped the daily bestseller list in the politics and society category.

On July 8, a notice was posted on the Kyobo Bookstore website stating, "Due to sold-out stock, shipping will be available after July 15." Notably, women in their 30s accounted for the highest proportion of buyers at 33.9%, followed by women in their 20s at 24%.

On the 5th, a condolence wreath from President Moon Jaein and First Lady Kwon Yangsook was placed at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital, where the late mother of former Governor Ahn Heejung was lying in repose. Photo by Yonhap News

The reason the book, published in March, has recently become a topic of discussion appears to be the funeral of former Governor Ahn's mother, held on July 5 and 6. President Moon sent a condolence wreath bearing his official title to the funeral, and major politicians such as lawmaker Lee Nakyon also paid their respects.

Particularly, there is criticism that it is inappropriate to publicly display condolences from the President and other high-ranking officials or politicians, given that former Governor Ahn is currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault.

Meanwhile, former Governor Ahn is serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted on charges including the sexual assault of his secretary, Kim.

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