The Human Rights Commission Investigation Has Begun, but the Park Won-soon Case Remains Unanswered

Limitations on Investigation Authority Cause Delays
Forensic Suspension Hinders Police Investigation
Possibility of Case Falling into a Dead End

Members of the Seoul Human Rights and Equality Advocacy Coalition are marching toward the National Human Rights Commission on the morning of the 28th in front of Seoul Library in Jung-gu, Seoul, urging an official investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong and Jeongyun Lee] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has launched an ex officio investigation into the sexual harassment case and death circumstances of the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul. However, concerns are rising that it will take a long time to uncover the truth. Considering the limitations of the NHRCK's investigative authority and the difficulties faced by the police investigation, there is a possibility that the case could end up in complete obscurity.

The NHRCK's ex officio investigation is being conducted mainly by a separate seven-member investigation team led by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination. An NHRCK official said in a phone interview on the 31st, "The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination is reviewing matters related to the ex officio investigation team. The detailed scope, subjects, and duration of the investigation are expected to be coordinated by that team." The day before, the NHRCK held its 26th Standing Committee meeting and unanimously approved the 'Ex Officio Investigation Plan' agenda.

The NHRCK's ex officio investigation will be carried out through witness interviews and collection of related evidence materials. Since the NHRCK lacks compulsory investigative powers such as search and seizure, it is expected to rely on testimonies from involved parties and cooperation from related institutions such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The speed of the investigation will largely depend on the willingness of these parties to cooperate. When the NHRCK launched an ex officio investigation related to the #MeToo movement initiated by Prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun in February 2018, the planned investigation period was three months.

However, in this investigation, the NHRCK has stated that it will not set a fixed period for the investigation. Since issues such as the handling procedures and actual conditions of sexual harassment cases involving elected public officials have also been raised, if the scope is expanded to include related fact-finding surveys, the ex officio investigation could take as long as one to two years. During the 'Shim Seok-hee case,' which revealed sexual violence across the sports community, the NHRCK conducted an investigation for about eight months targeting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and nationwide sports organizations. After the NHRCK decided to conduct the ex officio investigation, Kim Jae-ryeon, the legal representative of former secretary A, who filed a complaint against former Mayor Park for sexual harassment and other charges, posted on her Facebook on the afternoon of the 30th, stating, "The victim's memory will not be frozen."

Meanwhile, the court accepted the bereaved family's 'quasi-appeal and suspension of execution application' regarding the digital forensic procedure on former Mayor Park's mobile phone, putting a brake on the investigation into the cause of death and other inquiries. Accordingly, the police will keep the mobile phone sealed until the quasi-appeal decision is made. A quasi-appeal is a procedure to raise objections against a judge's ruling or a disposition by an investigative agency.

The scope of the forensic examination was limited to confirming the cause and circumstances of former Mayor Park's death. However, there were expectations that the forensic analysis would indirectly reveal reasons for his extreme choice and circumstances related to the sexual harassment allegations. But since the quasi-appeal decision usually takes more than a month, the investigation progress is expected to slow down.

Currently, the police have concluded that there is 'no prosecutable offense' regarding the sexual harassment complaint and are estimating the timing for case transfer, but the closure process is delayed. Additionally, regarding allegations of aiding and abetting sexual harassment, the police have summoned about ten Seoul city officials as witnesses and conducted investigations.

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