"Park Won-soon Sends Underwear Photos and Obscene Messages"… Women's Groups Urge Investigation into Sexual Harassment (Comprehensive)

Gomikyung, Executive Director of Korea Women's Hotline, is speaking at the "Press Conference on the Sexual Harassment Case by the Mayor of Seoul" held on the 13th at Korea Women's Hotline in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the 13th, women's organizations called for a thorough investigation into the sexual harassment allegations made by a female employee against the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who took his own life on the 10th.

The Korea Women's Hotline and the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center held a 'Press Conference on the Sexual Harassment Case by the Seoul Mayor' at the Korea Women's Hotline training center in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, exposing Mayor Park's sexual harassment of a female employee of the Seoul City government and making these demands.

Lee Mi-kyung, director of the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center, pointed out, "This case is a sexual harassment incident by the power of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon," adding, "It clearly shows the typical characteristics of sexual violence by power (in the workplace), which occurred in a situation where the victim could absolutely not refuse or resist due to the power held by the Seoul Mayor."

She continued, "On the day the victim filed the complaint, the accused (Park Won-soon) was informed of the police investigation status through some channel, and the accused chose an extreme option, causing the victim to suffer greater pain from secondary damage," adding, "This case is a typical workplace sexual harassment case, but since the accused has passed away, the investigation has been discontinued due to lack of prosecution rights. However, this case should never be overlooked without a thorough investigation."

Kim Jae-ryeon, the victim's legal representative, claimed that Ms. A, who worked in the Seoul Mayor's Secretariat, was sexually harassed over four years in the mayor's office and bedroom, and received obscene messages and photos in underwear via the Telegram messenger. Kim explained, "While the victim was working as a secretary, she showed such messages and photos to a friend, and some colleagues also saw the photos sent."

The victim's side criticized that although some forensic data from the victim's mobile phone containing such content was submitted to the police, the investigation was closed due to Mayor Park's death.

Director Lee said, "The fact that the perpetrator of sexual violence chose death is causing serious social debate," adding, "If the choice of death was also an apology to the victim, some form of apology and responsibility for the sexual violence should have been conveyed to the victim, but only a message apologizing to everyone was left. This one-sided interpretation that the apology was already received and responsibility concluded is causing tremendous psychological pressure on the victim." He condemned, "The fact that the investigation status was conveyed to the accused immediately after the complaint means that the accused had an opportunity to destroy evidence before the investigation began. In such a situation, who can trust the state system and report sexual violence by power?"

Gomi-kyung, executive director of the Korea Women's Hotline, said, "I understand that the police have grasped the facts of the case through the complainant's investigation and some witness interviews," and urged, "The police should clarify their position on the case based on the investigation so far." She also demanded that the Seoul City government form an investigative team according to workplace sexual harassment handling regulations to uncover the truth, and that the National Assembly announce plans for responsible actions.

Meanwhile, victim Ms. A expressed through a statement read by Director Lee on the same day, "The person who violated my dignity has himself abandoned human dignity," and said, "So I am disappointed." She explained the reason for filing the complaint, saying, "(Mayor Park) should have been judged by the law in the rule-of-law country Korea, and I wanted a human apology."

Attorney Kim stated, "The victim's complaint document circulating on the internet was not submitted by us to the investigative agency," adding, "That document contains parts that can identify the victim, so we have filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency today requesting active investigation and punishment of those who distributed the document."

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