Stalled Investigation of the 'Park Won-soon Case'... Schedule Disrupted by Consecutive Dismissals

Late Mayor Park Won-soon Investigation Stalled
Forensic Schedule to Confirm Death Circumstances Faces Difficulties
Sexual Harassment Negligence Allegations Only Witness Interviews So Far... Communication and Search Warrants Rejected

The police investigating the death of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon are expected to summon Im Soon-young, Seoul City's Special Gender Advisor, and other related personnel for questioning this week. On the 20th, reporters were waiting in front of the Seongbuk Police Station in Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Jeongyun Lee] Investigations into various allegations surrounding the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon have shown little progress. The digital forensic work to clarify the circumstances of his death has not yet been completed, and as the number of related individuals being questioned has increased beyond initial expectations, both police and prosecution investigations remain stuck at the preliminary stages.

The police have so far summoned about 10 Seoul city officials as witnesses in the investigation into allegations of neglect regarding Park’s sexual harassment. Additional related individuals are scheduled to be summoned in the coming weeks. Although summonses for key figures, including Seo Jeong-hyeop, the Deputy Mayor of Seoul (currently acting mayor), who has been accused of aiding and abetting sexual assault, as well as former and current secretaries, will be conducted sequentially, delays seem inevitable due to the need to coordinate the schedules of each witness.

The investigation has faced difficulties starting from evidence collection. Communication warrants for three mobile phones registered under Park’s name, as well as a search warrant for Seoul City Hall to obtain evidence related to neglect allegations, were all consecutively rejected by the court. There had been expectations that the neglect investigation might indirectly clarify the sexual harassment allegations against Park, but ultimately the investigation must proceed without physical evidence. So far, the only physical evidence secured by the police is Park’s iPhone model work phone and call records for about 8 to 9 days. Even this is limited to use only in the investigation related to the circumstances of his death.

On the 10th, when Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead, employees were arriving at Seoul City Hall. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The police are currently working to unlock the password of this phone and conducting digital forensic analysis, but the process is not going smoothly. This is because the bereaved family’s lawyers and Seoul city lawyers have expressed intentions to observe the process, making scheduling difficult. The police completed the imaging process, which involves copying the entire phone to create a file, on the day the phone was unlocked. Now, data analysis and material selection remain, but since both the family and Seoul city have expressed their intention to participate in the entire forensic process, analysis can only proceed when they are present. A police official said, "Scheduling is more difficult than the actual forensic work."

The sexual harassment complaint, which is the core of the case, is effectively being concluded as 'no prosecution' and the timing of the transfer is being coordinated. However, the closure of the case is delayed beyond the original schedule due to its entanglement with other complaints and accusations. Investigations into secondary harm, such as online and offline defamation against the victim, are showing somewhat meaningful results. On the 28th, the police conducted searches and seizures of servers from four websites?Clien, eTorrent, FM Korea, and DC Inside?and secured data related to posts and commenters involved in secondary harm. Regarding the leak of the victim’s initial testimony online, the police have identified the initial distributor to some extent and are tracing the distribution path.

The prosecution’s investigation has also made no significant progress. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating allegations of leaks related to Park’s sexual harassment complaint. However, it was revealed that the prosecution became aware of the complaint’s receipt a day earlier than the police, leading to suspicions that the prosecution might be another source of the leak. The prosecution has issued a statement denying any external leaks but has since remained silent on the matter.

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