Repeated Sexual Misconduct Cases in Politics, When Will They End?

Justice Party Leader Kim Jong-cheol Resigns Over Sexual Harassment
Political Sexual Misconduct Continues Following Ahn Hee-jung, Oh Keo-don, Park Won-soon
1049 National Public Officials Disciplined for Sexual Misconduct in Past 5 Years
Related Organizations Call for Incident Manuals and Strict One-Strike, One-Out Policies

Kim Jong-cheol, Leader of the Justice Party. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] The political sphere continues to be shaken by ongoing incidents of sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment and assault. Following previous scandals involving politicians, the recent sexual misconduct case within the Justice Party has intensified calls for urgent responsibility and the establishment of proper countermeasures.

Recently, it was revealed that Kim Jong-cheol, leader of the Justice Party, sexually harassed fellow party member Jang Hye-young, leading to his sudden resignation from the party leadership. On the morning of the 25th, Bae Bok-joo, deputy leader and head of the Justice Party’s Gender and Human Rights Bureau, held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "Today, I must share a deeply shameful and distressing announcement with party members and the public. On January 15th, the sexual harassment incident involving Leader Kim Jong-cheol occurred, and the victim is Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young."

It is unprecedented for a party leader of a major established political party to resign due to sexual misconduct. Particularly, the Justice Party has been the most vocal on gender equality issues and has emphasized the prevention of sexual violence in public institutions, making this scandal even more impactful.

Victim Jang Hye-young released a statement saying, "The shock and pain of having my dignity as an equal human being violated by our party leader, who was both a political comrade advocating for the eradication of gender-based violence and someone I deeply trusted, were immense. I want to be truly free from this issue and return to my daily political life."

A press conference opposing the establishment of the archive for the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, was held in front of Seoul City Hall on July 27 last year. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Previously, sexual misconduct cases involving prominent politicians such as former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, and former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon have come to light.

Former Governor Ahn resigned in 2018 after being accused of sexually assaulting his secretary. Former Mayor Oh is under prosecution for forcibly molesting a female public official, and former Mayor Park, accused of sexually harassing his secretary, took his own life just one day after the allegations surfaced in July last year.

Sexual crimes by public officials, often seen as power-based sexual offenses, continue to rise. According to the Ministry of Personnel Management in October, 1,049 national public officials were disciplined for sexual misconduct over the past five years. Among these, 467 cases (44.5%) involved sexual violence, the highest proportion, followed by 456 cases of sexual harassment and 126 cases related to prostitution.

Disciplinary actions for sexual misconduct among public officials numbered 227 in 2017, 213 in 2018, and 242 in 2019, maintaining over 200 cases annually for three consecutive years. The proportion of sexual violence cases has also steadily increased from 37% in 2017 to 42% in 2018 and 51% in 2019.

Given this situation, there are growing criticisms that the political sector’s sensitivity to gender issues still fails to meet societal standards and public expectations, emphasizing the need for proper responses to prevent further victimization.

On the 25th, Shin Ji-ye, head of the Korean Women’s Political Network, said on KBS Radio’s "Joo Jin-woo Live," "It is especially important to show a firm stance against sexual violence in politics so that citizens and the public can continuously monitor and check such behavior to prevent it from happening again. Prosecutors, police, and lawmakers should all have a higher-than-average sensitivity to gender issues, but the problem is that they do not."

Regarding future measures, Shin emphasized, "Political parties, the National Assembly, the Election Commission, and civic groups should conduct related surveys and case studies to determine whether such incidents have occurred within their ranks and develop manuals on what actions to take to prevent them in the future. For current sexual violence cases, a ‘one strike, one out’ policy?meaning zero tolerance?must be properly enforced against perpetrators."

She added, "Victims should not have to shrink back or hide. Perpetrators must be held accountable according to the law and then reintegrate into society, while victims need support to recover and return to their daily lives. This is the culture our society needs."

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