Court: "Human Rights Commission's decision on 'Park Won-soon sexual harassment' lawful, caused sexual humiliation and discomfort" (Comprehensive)

A press conference opposing the establishment of the archive for the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, is being held in front of Seoul City Hall on July 27, 2020. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

"According to the plaintiff's claim, victims of workplace sexual harassment should immediately become darkened and powerless upon experiencing the harassment. This is based on a subjective assumption that 'victims of sexual harassment would have shown such an attitude', which overlooks the diverse manifestations of sexual harassment victims." (Court)

The court ruled that the National Human Rights Commission's decision recognizing former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's sexual harassment of a subordinate was appropriate.

On the afternoon of the 15th, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 8 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-hee) dismissed the first trial lawsuit filed by Park's spouse, Kang Nan-hee, seeking to cancel the recommendation decision against the Human Rights Commission, stating that "the Commission's recommendation for corrective action at the time was lawful," ruling against the plaintiff.

On this day, the court stated, "Each act in this case was not a one-time occurrence but happened multiple times over a long period, causing mental distress," and "Each act constitutes sexual conduct and reaches the level of sexual harassment by causing sexual humiliation or discomfort to the victim." The court did not accept Kang's claim that "the acts recognized as sexual harassment by the Human Rights Commission do not constitute sexual harassment."

The court said, "Objective evidence and testimonies from related parties cannot be arbitrarily dismissed, especially when they are consistent and not contradictory," "and the testimonies of witnesses who saw Mayor Park sending messages such as 'What are you doing?' 'Your scent is nice, sniff sniff,' 'Shall I come to your house?' 'Are you alone?' via Telegram late at night align with the victim's claims."

Furthermore, "These testimonies are based on direct observations, detailing time, place, and circumstances. They have a level of specificity difficult to express without firsthand experience," "and the Telegram recovery results confirmed records of Mayor Park sending messages like 'You should get a husband quickly' and 'You always knew I was by your side'"," the court explained. The court also found it factual that Mayor Park sent selfie photos and suggestive female emoticons, and touched the victim's nail art on one finger in his office.

In particular, the court emphasized, "Mayor Park could influence the victim's status beyond a workplace superior-subordinate relationship. The victim had no choice but to consider possible job-related disadvantages if the harassment was made public." This implies that the victim's occasional displays of intimacy cannot be used to deny Mayor Park's sexual harassment.

Kang's side raised issues about the victim sending messages like "I love you" and "See you in my dreams" to Mayor Park, but the court stated, "These expressions were commonly used by other employees in the department as signs of respect," and "They appear to be passive expressions used to avoid and end conversations when Mayor Park made sexually uncomfortable remarks. It is likely the victim said these to avoid conflict and appease Mayor Park."

Previously, former Mayor Park was found dead on July 10, 2020, in a mountain area in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and it was revealed that he had been accused of sexual assault by a subordinate Seoul city official.

The victim reported that Mayor Park sent inappropriate messages, photos, and emoticons late at night and touched the victim's nail art and hand in his office. Due to Mayor Park's death, the police closed the investigation in December of that year without resolving the sexual assault allegations.

However, in January of the following year, the Human Rights Commission conducted an ex officio investigation and concluded that Mayor Park's conduct toward the victim constituted sexual harassment. The Commission also recommended that Seoul City protect the victim, prevent secondary damage, improve the secretariat's operational practices based on gender role stereotypes, and establish gender-equal job guidelines. Kang filed this administrative lawsuit in opposition to the Commission's decision.

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