Ryu Ho-jeong: "Park Won-soon Victims Face Excessive Secondary Harm... Demands for 'Victim-like' Behavior"

In July, Mayor Park Also Refused to Pay Condolences

Ryu Ho-jeong, a member of the Justice Party, is holding a press conference to propose an amendment to the Criminal Act to strengthen punishment for sexual crimes on the afternoon of the 12th of last month at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Regarding the secondary harm toward the sexual violence victim of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Ryu Ho-jeong, a member of the Justice Party, pointed out, "The secondary harm toward the victim is going too far."

On the morning of the 22nd, Ryu attended a party meeting held at the National Assembly and stated, "We must stop the secondary harm toward the victim."

Ryu criticized, "An absurd video demanding 'victim-like behavior' has received over 3,000 comments, and the victim was instantly labeled a 'kkotbaem' (flower viper). The victim's legal representative was dubbed the 'Head of the Sexual Affairs National Intelligence Service' by an internet media outlet, implying they knew the most about the sexual violence case. Fake news claiming that only sexual violence cases involving current ruling party figures are being publicized was also brazenly reported."

She continued, "I almost want to remain silent in the face of such despicable behavior that is hard to put into words," and pointed out, "This lowly behavior damages the honor of the deceased, who devoted themselves to a gender-equal society, under the flimsy pretext of protecting the faction the deceased belonged to."

She added, "Legislative efforts are needed to prevent secondary harm," and noted, "Punishment provisions with different protected legal interests, such as defamation, insult, and breach of confidentiality, cannot be expected to effectively protect victims or prevent crimes."

She also revealed future legislative plans, saying, "The Justice Party and I have formed a 'Sexual Violence Secondary Harm Prevention Law Task Force (TF)' and began preparing the bill since the 10th." Currently, the Justice Party has formed the Sexual Violence Secondary Harm Prevention Law Task Force and started working on the bill.

Earlier, in July, Ryu stated that she would refuse to visit the funeral hall as a way to prevent secondary harm to the victim of former Mayor Park.

At that time, Ryu posted on her Facebook, "I do not intend to pay respects," indicating she would not attend Park's funeral.

She expressed support for the victim who filed a police complaint against Park for sexual harassment, saying, "I hope you know you are not alone, you who could not resist the hierarchy of a respected person and became a target of harassment, you who could only decide to file a complaint after receiving psychiatric counseling necessary for treatment and recovery, and you who must press your chest tightly to barely breathe amid the already started 'secondary harm' and 'personal information digging.'"

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