"No Secondary Harm to Park Won-soon's Accuser" Lee Nak-yeon, 'Surprise Appointment' Park Seong-min as 'Right Person for Gender Response'

Lee Nak-yeon Selects 24-Year-Old Park as Supreme Council Member Nominee
Official Audition Revealed Last August on Democratic Party's YouTube Channel 'Sseum'
"Qualified to Swiftly Address Gender Issues as a Young Woman"
Appeal to Stop Secondary Harm to Late Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's Accuser

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, drew attention on the 31st by surprisingly appointing Park Seong-min, a 20-year-old university student and the party's youth spokesperson, as one of the nominated Supreme Council members.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 31st, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, appointed 24-year-old former youth spokesperson Park Seong-min as a nominated Supreme Council member, drawing attention to Park.

Born in 1996 and currently 24 years old, Park was appointed as the youth spokesperson last August through a public audition held on the Democratic Party's official YouTube channel 'Sseum.' She is currently on leave from Korea University.

The reason Lee appointed Park is that, from a female perspective, she can respond swiftly to gender issues.

Previously, Park appealed to stop secondary victimization against the accuser in the sexual harassment allegations case involving the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.

Chief spokesperson Choi In-ho held a briefing at the National Assembly communication office on the same day, explaining Park's nomination as the youth spokesperson: "She has excellently performed various roles as the youth spokesperson within the party and has received high evaluations both inside and outside the party. As a young woman, she is deemed the right person to respond promptly to gender issues, communicate candidly, make proposals to the party, and solve problems."

Park has voiced opinions on youth and women's rights. In particular, regarding the sexual harassment allegations against the late Seoul Mayor, she criticized the secondary victimization of the accuser. In July, when political circles debated the truth of the sexual harassment allegations surrounding the late mayor's death and criticism arose against the accuser, Park chose a victim-centered approach to the sexual harassment case.

Photo by Former Spokesperson Park, Facebook Capture

On July 11, Park posted on her Facebook, "I believe Mayor Park Won-soon changed and created many parts of our society as a civic activist, lawyer, and mayor," expressing her condolences. However, she added, "Separately from mourning Mayor Park, I want to clearly state that there should be no secondary victimization or personal information leaks against the accuser. I earnestly ask that premature speculation and slander about the current situation stop."

At that time, the political circles were criticized for secondary victimization against the accuser. On July 13, Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Joon-byung, who served as the first deputy mayor of Seoul during Mayor Park's tenure, wrote on his Facebook, "She was someone with a high level of gender sensitivity. Being pure and proud, regardless of the truth of the allegations, she must have felt sorry to those around her just because she was accused. Perhaps she answered with her death to prevent political controversies about the truth and secondary victimization of victims during the ensuing debates."

The Democratic Party also faced controversy for hanging a memorial banner saying "We will remember your will." At that time, 'National Assembly Femi,' a group of female workers in the National Assembly, criticized, "Using the fact that the deceased took her own life to end the investigation to insult and cause pain to the victim is clear secondary victimization."

Additionally, historian Jeon Woo-yong sparked controversy by writing, "I don't know if all other women will ever meet such a 'male friend' again," and "Modern Korean women's history cannot be rewritten without Park Won-soon."

In response to this situation, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon pointed out, "Former supporters of the old Saenuri Party suddenly became feminists, and the old Democratic Party transformed into the 'touch-and-feel party' defending such acts."

Attorney Kim Jae-ryeon, the representative of the victim in the sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, is holding a request letter urging an ex officio investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against former Mayor Park in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of July 28.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Park also criticized the judiciary on July 6, when the court decided not to extradite Son Jung-woo, operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site 'Welcome to Video,' to the United States. She wrote on her Facebook, "Today was truly a despairing day. Even trying to control my emotions was not easy. I believe many who saw this news felt the same."

Regarding the controversy over the conversion of irregular workers to regular workers at Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC), on July 2, she stated, "The IIAC controversy touches on the spirit of the times. It is the desire for fairness. Fairness is the only consolation in a world where inequality and polarization have deepened, and unfairness and loopholes run rampant. At the same time, it is a right that can rightfully be claimed as a result of my intense efforts. And as a citizen qualified to live in a better world, it is both a sword and shield to protect myself. Fairness has now become an indispensable value in anyone's world."

Also, when Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong attended a plenary session of the National Assembly wearing a one-piece dress, sparking so-called 'dress code controversy,' Park expressed her thoughts on the 6th, saying, "We must become a society where diversity is respected," and "Indiscriminate slander that is easier to happen just because someone is a woman and young must stop immediately."

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