Victim of Park Won-soon, "He said he would definitely send it"... Telegram Request for Transfer Revealed

On the morning of the 22nd of last month, at a location in downtown Seoul, the '2nd Press Conference on the Power Sexual Violence Case by the Mayor of Seoul' was held, attended by complainants and related parties including Kim Jae-ryeon, lead attorney of the law firm On-Sesang. From the left: Ko Mi-kyung, Executive Director of Korea Women's Hotline; Kim Jae-ryeon, lead attorney of the law firm On-Sesang; Song Ran-hee, Secretary General of Korea Women's Hotline; Kim Hye-jung, Deputy Director of Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center; Lee Mi-kyung, Director of Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Organizations supporting the victims of the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's sexual violence case have directly refuted claims by Seoul city officials that "there was no request for transfer from the victim." They disclosed Telegram conversations between the victim and their superior regarding transfer requests during the victim's tenure at the mayor's office as evidence.

The Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center and Korea Women's Hotline issued a statement on the 17th, saying, "The victim voiced grievances to more than 20 officials over four years," countering claims made by former Seoul Mayor’s Office Chiefs of Staff Kim Joo-myung and Oh Sung-kyu.

These organizations stated, "Some officials in the mayor's office on the 6th floor of Seoul City Hall are attempting to destroy evidence by deleting all Telegram messages exchanged with the victim or withdrawing from Telegram," and released Telegram conversations in which the victim expressed grievances and requested a transfer to past mayor's office officials.

According to the disclosed content, the victim informed their superior that during a meeting with the responsible manager in June 2017, they were told, "It seems you will be here until January (2018)," and "At that time, no matter what happens, please persuade the mayor and make sure to send me to the Human Resources Development Department."

In response, the superior sent replies such as, "In January, I will definitely make sure you are sent where you want," "Pull yourself together and fighting," and "I hope you can escape this time," indicating that the victim had been continuously requesting a personnel transfer.

On October 25 of the same year, the victim also informed the personnel officer, "The chief said it would be good if I stayed, so I am very conflicted," revealing that the Chief of Staff personally discouraged the victim's transfer request.

The two organizations, composed of the victim’s legal representatives and others, criticized, "Despite numerous mayor's office staff being involved in conversations related to the victim’s sexual grievances and transfer requests, successive Chiefs of Staff have denied knowledge, claiming they 'did not know.'"

Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's ex-secretary Oh Seong-gyu, who was accused of aiding and abetting sexual harassment, is answering reporters' questions as he leaves the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency after an investigation on the afternoon of the 17th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Oh Sung-kyu, former Chief of Staff to the late Mayor Park, who was accused of aiding sexual harassment, appeared at the police station for questioning on the same day.

In a statement, Oh said, "I have never received any complaints or transfer requests from the accuser or any third party, and no staff member in the mayor's office has ever told me they received such complaints," adding, "Claims that Seoul city officials aided or systematically concealed this are politically motivated slander."

After the police investigation, Oh told reporters, "During my tenure as Chief of Staff at the end of 2018, since the victim had worked in the mayor's office for a long time, I initiated the transfer plan," and "I was informed that the victim did not want the transfer, so I let them stay." He denied the victim’s claims, adding, "Anyone who wanted a transfer was transferred without exception, whether after six months or a year."

Earlier, on the 13th, Kim Joo-myung, former Chief of Staff to the Seoul Mayor, was also questioned by the police on the same charges as Oh. On the day of the investigation, he stated, "I did not systematically aid or condone sexual harassment."

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