What Do You Think About the Court Reading of 'Sexual Harassment' Even Though It's Not Park Won-soon's Trial?

Mr. A "Victim's PTSD Due to Park"
Defendant Mentions Park to Explain Claim
Legal Community Says "No Need to Read Aloud"
Some Opinions Reflecting the Times

The late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Seongpil] On the 14th, in courtroom 312 of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Chief Judge Jo Seongpil read aloud a summarized verdict. When he stated, "It appears to be true that the victim suffered considerable mental distress due to the sexual harassment by the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon," the courtroom stirred. On that day, Chief Judge Jo recited without filtering the text messages sent by former Mayor Park to the victim. These messages contained indications of Park's sexual harassment, such as "I want to smell you" and "I will teach you about men."

"Unavoidable During Sentencing Process"

The defendant in this case was not former Mayor Park. It was a former Seoul Mayor’s Secretariat employee, Mr. A, who was charged with quasi-rape causing injury. He was on trial for allegedly taking a drunken victim to a motel the day before the April 15 general election last year, sexually assaulting her, and causing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requiring more than six months of treatment. The charges were unrelated to former Mayor Park. Nevertheless, Chief Judge Jo mentioned Park’s sexual harassment because of Mr. A’s defense. During the trial, Mr. A claimed, "The victim’s PTSD was caused not by me but by the sexual harassment from former Mayor Park."

To examine this claim, the court reviewed the victim’s hospital counseling and treatment records. The counseling records reportedly included the victim’s testimony about receiving obscene texts and photos from former Mayor Park. These were the text messages Chief Judge Jo disclosed in court. Based on these records, the court concluded, "While it is undeniable that the victim suffered mental distress due to former Mayor Park’s sexual harassment, the fundamental cause for psychiatric treatment was the defendant Mr. A’s crime." A legal insider commented, "The court’s mention of former Mayor Park appears to be an explanation that the defendant’s claim is not entirely baseless but partially corresponds to facts."

"Political Intent Suspected"

However, there is skepticism about publicly revealing messages containing sexual harassment details of a third party who is not the defendant. The consensus in the legal community is that while it is appropriate to include such information in the verdict document, which is disclosed only to the parties involved, there was no need to read it aloud in court. A lawyer in Seocho-dong pointed out, "It would have sufficed to say ‘the PTSD was caused by the defendant’s quasi-rape,’ so it is questionable why the court mentioned former Mayor Park’s sexual harassment, which has no direct causal relationship." Another lawyer said, "It raises suspicion that this was deliberately said to be overheard by the press due to political motives."

There is also an interpretation that this reflects the current era. A lawyer who is a former judge explained, "Traditionally, judges writing verdicts and delivering sentences avoid touching on crimes committed by third parties who are not defendants. However, nowadays, times have changed, and there are many judges who do not follow this practice."

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