Seoul City Forms Investigation Team Composed Entirely of External Experts for 'Late Mayor Park Won-soon's Sexual Harassment Allegations'

Name Changed from Existing 'Min-Gwan Joint Investigation Team' to 'Joint Investigation Team' Excluding Seoul City
Women's Organizations Supporting Victims to Receive Recommendations from Women's Rights Experts

Hwang In-sik, spokesperson for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is reading the Seoul city government's official statement on the investigation into employee human rights violations at the city hall press room on the 15th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to form a joint investigation team composed entirely of external experts to uncover the truth behind the sexual harassment allegations against the late former Mayor Park Won-soon. The term previously used, "employee reporting harm," will now be referred to as "victim."

On the 17th, Seoul City issued a press release stating, "To ensure objectivity and fairness in verifying the facts and establishing measures to prevent recurrence regarding the sexual harassment and assault complaints, a joint investigation team composed entirely of external experts will be formed." The city also said, "We plan to form the investigation team as soon as possible to respond to citizens' demands and to prepare and implement structural improvement measures to prevent similar cases in the future."

The investigation team will be named the "Joint Investigation Team for the Truth-Finding of Sexual Harassment and Assault of Seoul City Employees." Although Seoul City initially announced on the 15th that it would form a "public-private joint investigation team" including the city, Seoul City's participation as the government side has been excluded. This decision is interpreted as a response to public opinion that Seoul City, the subject of the investigation, participating in the investigation would be an inappropriate "self-investigation."

In the same document, the city replaced the previous expression "employee human rights violation truth-finding" with "sexual harassment and assault complaint cases."

The joint investigation team will consist of nine investigators: three experts on women's rights, three human rights experts, and three legal experts. The team leader will be elected by the members of the investigation team. Seoul City explained that women's rights experts will be recommended by women's organizations such as the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center and Korea Women's Hotline, which support victims; human rights experts will be recommended by the National Human Rights Commission; and legal experts will be recommended by the Korean Women Lawyers Association, the Korean Bar Association's Women's Rights Committee, and the Korean Gender Law Association, respectively.

Under the joint investigation team, special investigators who will handle the actual investigative work will also be appointed. These special investigators will be selected by the joint investigation team from experts with sufficient related experience and know-how. They will work full-time, conducting investigations and preparing reports. The city plans to secure and provide an independent space outside the city hall for the investigation office and meeting rooms.

The roles of the joint investigation team include ▲ establishing the substantive truth through fact-finding investigations ▲ recommending disciplinary actions or complaints and accusations against illegal or improper actors ▲ proposing measures to improve systems and organizational culture to prevent recurrence. The scope of the investigation includes ▲ verifying facts related to the sexual assault complaint cases ▲ confirming whether Seoul City was complicit ▲ confirming whether Seoul City had prior knowledge ▲ checking for information leaks and coercion. Specific details will be decided by the investigation team in the future.

The investigation period will be within 90 days from the initial formation date. Decisions will be made by a majority vote of the members present, and confidentiality will be maintained through a non-disclosure agreement signed during the performance of duties. However, the investigation period may be extended if agreed upon by the investigators as necessary.

Seoul City stated that it will do its utmost to ensure the joint investigation team maintains strict independence from the city. To facilitate a smooth investigation, the acting mayor will order all employees to cooperate with the investigation team, and those who fail to cooperate without justifiable reasons will face disciplinary action for disobeying orders. If the subject of the investigation is a former employee, voluntary cooperation will be requested, and if they refuse without justifiable reasons, the matter will be referred to the police for investigation.

Furthermore, the joint investigation team will announce the investigation results immediately upon completion, and Seoul City plans to implement the recommendations made by the team. For illegal or improper actors, internal employees will face disciplinary action upon the city's corrective recommendations, and external individuals will be subject to complaints and accusations. The city also plans to actively accept and promote measures to prevent recurrence.

Alongside this, Seoul City has decided to replace the term "employee reporting harm" with "victim," following the official terminology established by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the relevant government department, and will use "victim" in other sexual harassment and assault-related cases going forward.

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