Police Decide Not to Prosecute Lawmaker Choi Kang-wook for 'Sexual Harassment Remarks'... "No Intent to Insult"

"Admitted to making the statement but no defamation charge established"
Victim identified as Assemblyman Kim Nam-guk
"Dismissed due to no complaint filed for defamation, which is a complaint-based offense"

The police decided last month not to prosecute the case in which a civic group accused Rep. Choi Kang-wook of the Democratic Party of insulting female aides with sexually harassing remarks.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The police have decided not to prosecute an incident in which a civic group accused Rep. Choi Kang-wook of the Democratic Party of Korea of insulting female aides with sexually harassing remarks.

The Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 23rd that it had decided not to prosecute (dismiss) Rep. Choi, who was accused of insult, on the 18th of last month.

Rep. Choi was suspected of making sexually harassing remarks that evoked sexual acts toward a male colleague during an online party meeting on April 28. The female aides who attended the meeting the next day reported Rep. Choi to the party. At the time, Rep. Choi stated, "Although it may not have been intentional, I apologize to our party aides who suffered mental distress due to my remarks."

In response, the civic group Seomin Minsaeng Countermeasures Committee filed a complaint with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in May, accusing Rep. Choi of insult, stating that "when the sexual harassment controversy arose, he consistently made excuses instead of apologizing."

According to the police investigation, it was confirmed that Rep. Choi made sexually harassing remarks and that the female aides listened to the content. The police also reportedly reviewed the legal aspects considering that Rep. Choi allegedly said "jjaljjal-i" and that the party had disciplined him due to the female aides' demands for an apology, concluding that sexually harassing remarks were made.

However, the police stated, "The object and victim of the insult were identified as the male colleague (Rep. Kim Nam-guk)," and took into account that Rep. Kim expressed that he "does not consider it sexual harassment." Accordingly, the police judged that the remarks could be seen as joking among male colleagues but that it was difficult to view them as having the intent to insult.

Additionally, the police dismissed the case because insult is a complaint-based offense (a crime that requires a formal complaint by the victim to prosecute), and Rep. Kim did not file a complaint.

Meanwhile, Rep. Choi was disciplined with a six-month suspension of party membership on June 6 for the remarks. Although Rep. Choi requested a retrial, the Democratic Party Ethics Tribunal did not reach a conclusion as of the 1st.

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