Victim of Park Won-soon Says "Police Should Have Disclosed Facts Established by Investigation Results"

Investigation of Former Mayor Park Ends with 'No Prosecution'
Joint Action Criticizes Police for Providing Basis for Distortion of Facts

On the 13th, at the Korean Women's Hotline in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, Kim Jae-ryeon, the lead attorney of the law firm On·Sesang, revealed the secret chat room invitation message sent by Mayor Park Won-soon to complainant A during the press conference on the "Power Sexual Harassment Case by the Seoul Mayor." / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Women’s organizations supporting the victim of the late Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor, in the sexual harassment allegation case criticized the police’s investigation results released on the 29th, stating, "Instead of the expected result of no prosecution, the facts uncovered by the investigation should have been revealed."

The Joint Action for the Seoul Mayor Power Sexual Violence Case, composed of women’s and civic groups such as Korea Women’s Hotline and Women Workers’ Association, stated in a press release that "(The police) should have disclosed the fact that the victim had reported personnel and sexual grievances, which was confirmed by the investigation, regardless of the legal judgment."

The Joint Action said, "The victim’s testimony, the statements of witnesses who confirmed what they saw and heard, the evidence submitted by the victim, and the forensic results of the victim’s mobile phone were sufficient to support the victim’s testimony," adding, "The victim submitted all the mobile phones she used for forensic analysis to have the facts acknowledged as facts, dismantling and analyzing the life she wanted to protect as an individual and submitting it as evidence."

They continued, "The police, as the agency responsible for handling complaints, accusations, and reports related to the late mayor’s case, have the duty to conduct active investigations to uncover the substantive truth. However, by repeatedly issuing the obviously expected 'no prosecution' decision, they ultimately provided a foundation for forces wishing to conceal and evade the truth to freely spread distorted stories," criticizing the police.

The Joint Action also criticized the police’s decision not to prosecute the former Seoul mayor’s chief secretary and others on charges of aiding and abetting sexual assault, stating, "Although the investigation result was announced as no charges due to insufficient evidence, the police investigation was never conducted actively from the beginning," and "The police took statements from about 20 current and former Seoul city employees who testified that the victim had reported personnel and sexual grievances, but they did not conduct any investigation to support these statements, such as forensic analysis or seizure of their mobile phones."

They added, "The police never announced the fact that the victim had reported personnel and sexual grievances to colleagues and superiors, and decided and announced the investigation based solely on witness statements from current and former employees as the 'result.'"

Finally, the Joint Action stated, "We will continue to stand in solidarity so that the victim can live her life and maintain faith in society in front of the four years it took to speak out, the late mayor who died after the victim filed a complaint, the investigation that was blocked thereafter, the court that halted the forensic analysis of the former mayor’s work phone for five months, the courts that dismissed all warrant applications, the former chief secretary who continuously incites 'no one knew, it’s not true, the victim is such a person,' and the government and ruling party that neglect secondary damage and evade social, institutional, and political responsibility after the former mayor’s death."

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the same day that it would close the investigation into the forced sexual assault complaint against the former mayor Park Won-soon with no prosecution and would send the case to the prosecution with no charges due to lack of evidence regarding allegations that seven people, including the Seoul deputy mayor and former and current chief secretaries, aided and abetted the forced sexual assault.

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