Memorial Ceremony for the Late Mayor Park Won-soon Held at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul on the First Anniversary

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The first anniversary memorial service for the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, was held on the 9th at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The memorial service was held on a small scale with only the bereaved family attending due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Initially, the family planned to hold a memorial event open to citizens and to welcome visitors at the family burial site in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam, on the 10th.

Ms. Kang conveyed through a handwritten letter the day before that "due to the rapid worsening of the COVID-19 situation, it was decided that the first anniversary memorial service would be held only with family members."

The memorial ceremony was attended by his wife Kang Nan-hee and daughter Da-in. His son Joo-shin was reportedly unable to attend as he was abroad. Inside the Daeungjeon Hall, only family members and monks were present, but some citizens and officials observed the memorial service from the outdoor courtyard of Daeungjeon.

Former Mayor Park was reported missing around 5:17 p.m. on July 9 last year, and after a search by police and fire authorities, he was found dead in the mountains near the Seoul Bugaksan Fortress Wall Trail at 12:01 a.m. on the following day, July 10.

The police investigated the sexual harassment allegations against former Mayor Park and the suspected neglect of sexual harassment by Seoul city employees for over five months after his death, but due to his passing, no significant results were achieved, and all cases were eventually sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for non-prosecution. However, the National Human Rights Commission’s ex officio investigation recognized that former Mayor Park engaged in inappropriate physical contact and sent text messages constituting sexual harassment of the victim. Prior to this, a court referenced the sexual harassment allegations in another trial involving the victim and made a judgment implying that the sexual harassment did indeed occur.

The Joint Action for the Seoul Mayor Power Sexual Violence Case, which supports the victims of former Mayor Park’s sexual harassment case, stated in a press release on the eve of the first anniversary of his death that "the perpetrator’s responsible acknowledgment and apology, and the just judgment of the law, as well as the courage of the victim who sought to reveal the truth despite unprecedented circumstances such as the leak of the accusation and the perpetrator’s death, have changed many things over the past year."

They added, "The National Human Rights Commission’s ex officio investigation uncovered part of the substantive truth of the case and recommended related institutions to correct the systems and organizational culture that condone and neglect sexual violence. It is also worth recalling that the ruling party’s apology, which had been hesitant, was eventually obtained. However, the victim’s ‘return to daily life’ remains a distant prospect."

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