Avoiding Mention of 'Park Won-soon Sexual Harassment Allegations' by Blue House... "Fact-Finding Must Be Confirmed"

Two Weeks After the Incident... Kang Min-seok Spokesperson "Condolences to the Victims"

Kang Min-seok, Blue House Spokesperson [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 23rd, the Blue House stated regarding the sexual harassment allegations against the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, "If the fact of sexual harassment is confirmed as a result of the truth-finding process, we will clearly and officially announce our position."

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, held a briefing at the press center in the afternoon and said, "The truth-finding process will be conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the National Human Rights Commission." He added, "The Blue House has a firm stance against sexual misconduct by high-ranking officials and prioritizes the protection of victims," expressing a general position without specifying the incident.

However, Kang added, "There was a press conference by the victim yesterday, and I have read the statement released," and said, "I sympathize with the contents expressed in that statement and, furthermore, offer words of consolation to the victim."

Unlike the text notice on the 13th, which used the term 'alleged victim,' Kang referred to the person as 'victim' this time. He stated that the Blue House had never notified former Mayor Park of the accusation and earnestly requested, "Please stop the secondary damage caused by criticizing the alleged victim, considering their pain and fear." However, the use of the term 'alleged victim' itself was criticized as constituting secondary harm.

This stance by the Blue House seems to reflect the judgment that it is still premature to grasp the substance of the case based solely on the victim's testimony currently known. When asked whether President Moon Jae-in would comment on the matter, a senior Blue House official repeated the existing position, saying, "The content can be conveyed at an appropriate time," but "the results of the truth-finding must come out first." He added, "Despite the facts not yet being confirmed, offering consolation to the victim was due to various secondary damages that occurred."

Regarding the standard for 'truth-finding,' he said, "Originally, the Seoul Metropolitan Government formed a joint public-private investigation team, but (through media reports) it seems to have been transferred to the Human Rights Commission," and added, "The Human Rights Commission's (investigation result announcement) will be the standard for expressing a position."

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