Lee Su-jeong "Gase-yeon Claims Unclear... Asked Me to State Position, Got Angry"

Professor Lee Su-jeong from the Graduate School of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University is giving a lecture at the "2019 Asia Women Leaders Forum" hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel, Jung-gu, Seoul, in October last year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University pointed out that the sexual assault allegations against Assemblyman Kim Byung-wook (Pohang Nam·Ulleung), raised by the Garoseuro Research Institute (Gaseyeon), "have not been clarified at all."

Professor Lee, a member of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Sexual Violence Countermeasures, said in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Jong-dae's News Up' on the 11th, "There has even been a statement that roughly guesses why this incident was not reported by the victim," expressing her view.

She pointed out, "Are the physical evidences presented now clear enough to urge a police investigation? That could be problematic," adding, "Although the crime of filing a complaint by the victim (chingojoe) has been abolished, physical evidence must still be certain for the police to conduct an investigation. Also, the person who claimed to be a witness did not appear on the YouTube broadcast to directly talk about what they witnessed, as far as I know."

According to the People Power Party's Staff Council on the same day, Ms. A, who was identified as the victim of Assemblyman Kim's sexual assault allegations, reportedly delivered a statement denying the allegations raised by Gaseyeon. Ms. A said, "Please consider my position as I am suffering from the unilateral spread of false information whose facts have not even been confirmed, and I hope you refrain from further speculation."

Regarding this, Professor Lee said, "It only becomes a real victim case when the victim files a complaint," and added, "If a third party expanded and reproduced the sexual scandal without verifying the facts, it might not have clearly reflected the victim's will."

She continued, "Without knowing the woman's (Ms. A's) intention, they found her and indirectly publicized the incident she suffered as 'sexual violence victimization,' and I have serious doubts about whether it is acceptable to ignore her will like this," she said.

She criticized, "When Gaseyeon talked about such a sexual scandal, they should have reflected the victim's opinion and asked, 'We have this kind of information that you have been victimized; is it okay to raise this as an issue?' but they did not."

Regarding demands for her to make a statement on this incident, Professor Lee explained, "Where would I go to make a statement? The reason I have not responded to the media at all is because I was waiting, thinking that perhaps the victim is unable to report the incident due to fear or coercion or power."

She added, "I really went to the brink of hell. I was very angry," and said, "People who do not even know the facts well believe only the sexual scandal mentioned by Gaseyeon and not only reproduce it widely but also point to me, a member of the Sexual Violence Special Committee, demanding that I make a statement, even though I am not the perpetrator. I wondered if I should make an issue out of it."

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