O Tae-wan, Uiryeong County Governor, Indicted Without Detention on Sexual Harassment Charges Against Female Reporter

Changwon District Prosecutors' Office Masan Branch. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Oh Tae-wan, the governor of Uiryeong County, Gyeongnam, has been indicted on charges of sexually harassing a female reporter.

The Changwon District Prosecutors' Office Masan Branch announced on the 12th that Oh was indicted without detention on charges of forcible molestation.

He is accused of sexually harassing a female journalist during a dinner gathering with some reporters who cover the county office at a restaurant in Uiryeong, Gyeongnam, on June 17 last year.

After the allegations surfaced, Governor Oh held a press conference claiming the accusations were groundless and that there was a malicious behind-the-scenes force seeking political gain behind this incident.

Upon learning of the indictment, he issued a statement the same day, reiterating that it was a baseless slander by certain forces.

Governor Oh appealed, “I cannot help but feel regretful and cannot accept this as the prosecution applied an unfair standard against opposition party local government heads. The obstruction by some opposing forces has grown to the extent that it should be subject to judicial judgment and is becoming an obstacle to Uiryeong’s development.”

He continued, “I deeply regret the prosecution decision by the administration and prosecution, who are desperate to suppress the opposition party ahead of the presidential election,” and added, “I will prove my innocence through the judgment of the judiciary.”

Meanwhile, Governor Oh was previously tried for falsely stating the rank of a public official during his tenure at Gyeongnam Province in election campaign materials during the April 7 local election by-election. He was fined 800,000 won but retained his position as governor. According to the Public Official Election Act, elected officials lose their office if sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more.

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