Democratic Party Women's Committee "Takes Park Won-soon's Human Rights Commission Investigation Results Seriously"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The Democratic Party of Korea's National Women's Committee stated on the 26th that it "respects and takes seriously" the National Human Rights Commission's judgment that the actions of the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, constitute sexual harassment.

Jeong Chunsook, the chairperson of the committee, released a statement on the same day, saying, "We sincerely apologize to the victim and their family who have suffered for a long time, as well as to the public who have been disappointed," and added, "We will deeply reflect and use this as an opportunity for awakening."

Jeong said, "Since the victim's experience became public, they have suffered various secondary damages such as criticism, speculation, and personal information disclosure," and urged, "We hope all forms of secondary harm against the victim will cease."

She continued, "The Human Rights Commission clarified in this case that the key to recognizing sexual harassment is not the level or frequency of sexual conduct, but whether there was work-related sexual conduct in the public domain," and explained, "This investigation result should serve as a turning point to recognize sexual harassment as an issue of power relations, organizational culture, and hierarchical structure."

Furthermore, she emphasized, "The Democratic Party's National Women's Committee will deeply reflect on the organization's responsibility when sexual harassment occurs, enhance gender sensitivity, and reform the sexist organizational culture," and stressed, "We will strive to ensure that the measures to prevent recurrence, such as permanent expulsion of sexual violence perpetrators and abolition of disciplinary statute of limitations, which were revised in the party's regulations last August, function effectively."

Jeong added, "We also thank those who supported the victim," and concluded, "The National Women's Committee will continue to firmly confront sexual violence and do its best to establish a culture of gender equality in our daily lives. We will stand with the victim on the path to recovery."

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