"4 Years of Love and Me Too" Democratic Party Members Spark Controversy Over 'Secondary Harm' to Park Won-soon Sexual Assault Allegation Complainant

Online Space Gathering Members and Supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea Faces Secondary Victim Blaming
"Why Did You Sue Only Now?", "Four Years of Love... Isn't This MeToo?" Baseless Claims Run Rampant
Attorney Kim Jaeryeon "Submitted Additional Complaint for Secondary Victim Blaming"
Lee Hae-chan "Expresses Sympathy for the Pain of the Woman Who Reported the Abuse"

A citizen is touching the portrait of the late Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul, which the bereaved family is carrying out from the birthplace of the late Mayor Park Won-soon in Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, on the afternoon of the 13th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "The truth behind this conspiracy must be clearly revealed.", "Why did you file the complaint only now?", "Is there some ulterior motive?"

As women's organizations called for a thorough investigation on the 13th into allegations of sexual harassment by the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s secretary, some members and supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea raised 'conspiracy theories,' expressing disbelief in the accuser's claims of sexual violence, sparking controversy over 'secondary victimization.'

On the morning of the 14th, an online space where Democratic Party members gathered was flooded with posts expressing disbelief in the accuser’s claim of sexual violence by the late mayor Park.

One netizen, presumed to be a party member, wrote, "Not 3 hours, not 3 days, but 3 years of sexual harassment?? Is the other party an alien, not a human?? If it were true, why file a complaint or report earlier? Why only now? Do you understand what nonsense this is?" questioning the timing of the complaint and expressing disbelief in the sexual violence claim.

In response, other party members said, "I cannot understand it. There is a political conspiracy. Why have they been silent all this time?"

Other members repeatedly claimed the accuser’s allegations were false, saying things like, "They fell into a trap," "Anyone can smell the rotten stench," "Why didn’t they file a complaint at first? I don’t understand why they endured for 3 years and only now filed," and "The women's organizations holding the press conference seem to value their claims over the law. And it reeks of something fishy."

Kim Jae-ryeon, representative lawyer of On·Sesang Law Firm, is revealing the invitation screen of the Telegram secret chat room at a press conference on the sexual harassment case by the Seoul mayor held at the Korean Women's Hotline in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Posts doubting the evidence of the late Mayor Park’s Telegram secret chatroom, disclosed by the accuser’s lawyer Kim Jae-ryun, also appeared.

One party member said, "I tried to start a secret chat with Mr. OO. When you start a secret chat, this part disappears," arguing that the Telegram chatroom disclosed by lawyer Kim was not a secret chatroom.

Meanwhile, posts supporting the so-called 'Pence Rule' gained traction among party members. The Pence Rule originated from an interview in 2002 when Mike Pence, then U.S. Vice President and former congressman, said, "I never eat alone with a woman except my wife."

In Korea, as the #MeToo movement spread, the term refers to excluding women in the workplace. It has been criticized for embedding workplace gender discrimination and misogyny under the guise of preventing sexual violence by excluding women altogether.

One party member said, "From now on, no female secretaries in any institution or business in Korea! Let women live with women and men live with men!" adding, "Just in case some strange people claim male secretaries also sexually harassed, it would be best to appoint secretaries from family members like children, siblings, or relatives... Korea would run very well."

Another party member said, "They loved for 4 years, but I think this is a speculative post that the secretary was assigned and harbored ulterior motives, reporting it as #MeToo. If they had embraced with a deep heart, this would not have happened," blaming the accuser for the cause and responsibility of the sexual violence case.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, on the same day, lawyer Kim Jae-ryun announced, "We have submitted an additional complaint regarding the secondary victimization occurring online and offline against the victim."

Kim explained, "We had the first consultation with the victim on May 12 this year, and through the second consultation on the 26th, we heard detailed accounts of the specific damages," adding, "From May 27, the day after, we began a detailed legal review."

Regarding the evidence submitted by the accuser, Kim said, "We submitted to the investigative authorities the data obtained from digital forensics of the victim’s mobile phone," and "We also submitted evidence inviting the victim to a secret late-night chat on February 6 this year, after the victim had resigned from the secretary position."

As the scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment by the late Mayor Park continues, Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan apologized in the afternoon, saying, "I apologize for the situation that has come to this."

According to Chief Spokesperson Kang Hoon-sik, Lee said, "I deeply feel responsible for the unexpected administrative gap. I express my condolences for the pain of the woman who reported the harm," and added, "The party will do its best to prevent such incidents from happening again."

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