'You Have to Look at the Chest' Sexual Harassment Remarks by Dalseo-gu Council Member Spark Controversy Over Harassment of Female Reporter

Daegu Dalseo District Council plenary session hall. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] A member of the People Power Party from Dalseo District Council in Daegu has sparked controversy after allegations surfaced that he repeatedly made sexually harassing remarks toward a female reporter covering the council, including telling her to "look at the shape of her breasts."

According to the Dalseo District Council on the 14th, Councilman A made several sexually harassing comments toward female reporter B from an online news outlet. On the 11th, B filed a complaint with the prosecution accusing A of sexual harassment.

B claims that she has been subjected to sexually harassing remarks by A since March. According to B, A said things like "You have to look at the color and shape of the breasts," and "If you know the exact shape of the navel and mix your body once, you can tell a person's physiognomy," among other sexually harassing comments.

In a recorded conversation during B's protest against A, Councilman A admitted to his remarks, saying, "I was making an analogy, not (sexual harassment). Whether it was a joke or whatever, if it was unpleasant, I apologize."

However, A strongly denies B's claims, calling them false. He stated, "About a year ago, B visited the council for coverage, and I found out we were elementary school alumni, so we got to know each other." He added, "I never even grabbed her wrist, let alone sexually harass her. She was the one who first said, 'You must have been handsome when you were young,' so I once said, 'You are pretty too,' but that has been exaggerated," he rebutted.

A also said, "In fact, not long ago, I even lent her (B) money related to a media business," and added, "I think this time she is trying to intimidate me by reporting to the police," and stated, "I am preparing to take measures such as defamation lawsuits."

In response, female council members of Dalseo District held a press conference at the Dalseo District Council on the 13th, demanding, "The council member who made sexually harassing and misogynistic remarks and the council member who tried to cover it up must publicly apologize and resign from their position."

They criticized, "The reporter covering the council claims to have heard vulgar sexually harassing remarks multiple times from Councilman A, and it is said that A also made unspeakable remarks to other female council members."

Earlier, reporter B expressed in a media interview, "Councilman A repeatedly made sexually harassing remarks to other female basic council members, such as 'female district council members are useless,' and 'If you give your body once, won't you get a nomination?'"

After the press conference, the female council members of Dalseo District filed a complaint against Councilman A with the Western Branch of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office on charges of insult and defamation.

Yoon Kwon-geun, chairman of the Dalseo District Council who attended the press conference, said, "As chairman, I apologize for this incident," and added, "I will take responsible measures as chairman to ensure this does not happen again."

The Dalseo District Council plans to hold an emergency extraordinary session on the 18th to convene an ethics committee to discuss Councilman A's case.

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