"Sexual Assault by Oh Se-hoon" 'Ghost Account' Internet Post... Oh's Side "Requests Investigation of False Information"

Claimed Sexual Assault by Candidate Oh During Last General Election
One of Multiple Accounts Is a 'Ghost Account'
Candidate Oh's Camp: "All General Election Staff Are Male"

On the afternoon of the 29th, campaign workers for Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor in the April 7 by-election, listened to a speech at the entrance of Gangbuk General Market in Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, during a support rally held by Kim Jong-in, the central election committee chairman. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Amid simultaneous postings on online communities claiming that Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, sexually assaulted them last year, Oh's camp has denied the allegations as "malicious falsehoods" and stated they will request a police investigation.

The posts, published on Naver Cafes and other platforms on the 28th, were written by someone claiming to have been responsible for Oh's election publicity preparation during the April 15 general election. The author alleged that "Oh continuously sexually harassed me, including sending messages that constituted sexual harassment."

The author added that Oh sent messages late at night such as "You're young and pretty, you must have a boyfriend," and "You need to date a lot," and at a company dinner, while intoxicated, massaged the author's hand and said, "Lately, you keep looking pretty, it's a big problem."

After the general election, Oh allegedly proposed a meeting, saying he would apologize for his reckless behavior, and later called the author to a hotel in Seoul where the sexual assault allegedly occurred.

The posts were made through multiple accounts; however, one of these was revealed to be an invalid so-called "ghost account."

As the posts spread, Oh's camp immediately refuted the claims. A representative stated to 'Yonhap News' on the 29th, "The staff who handled Oh's election publicity and communications during the last general election are still active in the current mayoral candidate's campaign, and all are male."

Oh's camp added that they have requested an investigation by the police cyber investigation unit regarding the posts.

Some have raised suspicions that these posts might be part of an organized negative campaign.

Lee Jun-seok, former Supreme Council member of the United Future Party (now People Power Party), wrote on his Facebook that day, "I hope that when this person is caught, they are not connected to any particular party. If they are linked to a specific party, I will demand that the party shut its doors." He added, "Recently, countless fake accounts have been commenting on my posts as well, and there must be a reason why fake accounts flood Korea only during elections."

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