Police Weigh Timing of Sending Park Won-soon Sexual Harassment Complaint... Other Complaints Also Expected to Be Dropped

Police Conclude 'No Prosecution' in Late Mayor Park Won-soon's Sexual Harassment Case
Case Expected to Be Transferred Next Week... Other Complaints Also Nearing Closure

On the 13th, at the Korean Women's Hotline in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, Kim Jae-ryeon, the lead attorney of the law firm On·Sesang, revealed the secret chat room invitation message sent by Mayor Park Won-soon to complainant A during the press conference on the "Power Sexual Harassment Case by the Seoul Mayor." / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Jeongyun Lee] The police are effectively concluding the sexual harassment case involving the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, and are coordinating the timing of the case transfer. The police are expected to close the case as early as this week or next week.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which is investigating the case, has begun finalizing the paperwork for transferring the case with a decision of "no prosecution" due to Mayor Park's death. When the accused dies and the case is closed, documents such as the autopsy report or death certificate are typically required. Law enforcement and prosecution agencies generally decide not to prosecute if the suspect has died. The police's stance is to transfer the case to the prosecution with a "no prosecution" decision in the same context. A police official stated, "There are no plans to summon the complainant or others for additional investigation regarding the sexual harassment complaint."

In addition to the sexual harassment complaint, all cases in which former Mayor Park was accused or reported by civic groups will be dismissed without prosecution. Currently, there are about five confirmed complaints and accusations, most of which are related to his duties as mayor of Seoul. In May, a member of a conservative group filed a complaint accusing former Mayor Park of dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to properly manage the COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the complainants are known to be affiliated with conservative groups.

Meanwhile, the police are conducting digital forensic investigations on the mobile phone found among the belongings at the scene to clarify the circumstances of former Mayor Park's death. Additionally, they have applied for a warrant to check the call records of two other mobile phones registered under his name. The day before, the police summoned former Secretary General Go Han-seok, who is known to have last spoken with former Mayor Park on the day he went missing, as a witness for questioning. The police plan to summon and investigate other Seoul city officials in turn.

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