Victim of Park Won-soon Speaks Out Directly... Press Conference on the 17th

The portrait and urn of the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, are heading to the hearse on the afternoon of July 13 last year at Seoul Memorial Park in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after cremation, to be transported to Park's hometown, Changnyeong, Gyeongnam.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] The victim of the late Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor, sexual harassment case will attend a press conference on the 17th for the first time since the incident occurred to express her feelings. It has been 252 days since the death of former Mayor Park. With the Seoul mayoral by-election on April 7 just three weeks away, both ruling and opposition parties are on high alert about how the press conference might affect the election.

According to the Joint Action for the Seoul Mayor Power Sexual Violence Case (Joint Action), victim A will attend the Joint Action press conference at 10 a.m. that day. The location of the conference will be notified via text message only to applicants, and filming and recording of the victim are prohibited.

The organizers stated, "A society that has long forced women, the vulnerable, and minorities to crouch in silence is changing," adding, "It is time to listen carefully and responsibly discuss social change. We hope you will join this important space for speaking and listening to take a step toward a gender-equal tomorrow."

The press conference will be held under the theme "Pause, Reflect, and Take a Step Toward a Gender-Equal Tomorrow," during which A is expected to share her feelings after filing the complaint against former Mayor Park and address the secondary harm inflicted on her, including being called a "victim complainant" by the ruling party after Park’s death.

Attendees will include Professor Lee Su-jeong of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University, Kim Hye-jung, director of the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center, Lee Dae-ho, former media secretary of Seoul City and a former colleague of A, and Seo Hye-jin, a lawyer from the victim’s legal team.

Until now, A has not appeared in public directly but has released statements through letters, her legal team, and support organizations. On July 22 last year, she stated in a press release, "I hope the process will be revealed through lawful and reasonable procedures without any prejudice." In a handwritten letter dated January 18, she demanded that Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party, who had been suspected of leaking information related to the sexual harassment complaint against former Mayor Park, "sincerely apologize and resign from her position."

Earlier, former Mayor Park was accused on July 8 last year by a former secretary of forcible molestation and violations of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (obscenity using communication media, molestation by abuse of authority). On the morning of July 9, Park sent a text message to an aide saying, "I don’t think I can overcome this wave," and was found dead around midnight on July 10.

The sexual harassment complaint against former Mayor Park was closed with "no prosecution" due to his death. Allegations of complicity by Seoul city officials were also dismissed. However, on January 25, the National Human Rights Commission recognized some facts of the sexual harassment allegations against former Mayor Park, stating that it constituted sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, with the Seoul mayoral by-election approaching, political circles are focused on what statements A will make at the press conference. Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor Park Young-sun said on March 8, International Women’s Day, "On behalf of the party, I sincerely apologize once again to the victim." In response, People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon called it "a belated apology that came more than 40 days after declaring his candidacy."

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