"'Jjaljjal-i' Refers to Kim Nam-guk Coin"... Choi Kang-wook's Alleged Sexual Harassment Accusation

"Kim Nam-guk Avoids Meetings, Thinks About Coins"
"Avoids Talking to Prevent Controversy," Testimony Emerges

Choi Kang-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been accused of making sexually harassing remarks during a video conference last year, with claims emerging that he referred to Kim Nam-guk's cryptocurrency as 'jjaljjal-i' (a coin-flipping gambling game).

Recently, a journalist from a progressive media outlet revealed an interview conducted with Choi last year via their social networking service (SNS). According to the journalist, Choi explained that the so-called 'jjaljjal-i' remark was “an incident that started during a conversation with Kim Nam-guk amid a delayed meeting.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Choi stated, “Kim Nam-guk was very interested in financial investment and had invested in cryptocurrency. Sometimes he boasted when the coin prices went up, and other times he expressed frustration because he had sold his coins but others’ coins increased in value.” He added, “On that day, people were slow to join the meeting, and Kim Nam-guk also had a fixed screen on and did not show his face. At that moment, I thought of cryptocurrency.”

He further explained to the journalist, “Investing in cryptocurrency makes it difficult to focus on the meeting at the same time. So I said, ‘Why are you doing that too? Are you playing 'jjaljjal-i' (a gambling game using coins) right now?’”

He also reportedly said, “If I reveal this story, the image of cryptocurrency investment will be tarnished, and the controversy might shift to Kim Nam-guk. I couldn’t bring myself to say that just to save myself.”

In other words, the remark that sparked the sexual harassment controversy was indeed ‘jjaljjal-i’ as initially explained, but it was directed at Kim’s cryptocurrency. This suggests that Choi deliberately took the blame to cover up concerns that Kim’s cryptocurrency investment might become a controversy.

The journalist who disclosed this anecdote stated, “Since Kim Nam-guk’s cryptocurrency investment is no longer a secret, there is no reason to withhold this story out of consideration for him,” explaining the reason for the delayed disclosure.

Meanwhile, on April 28 last year, Choi was embroiled in allegations that during an online video conference with male members and male and female aides of the same party, he made a remark implying a sexual act?saying, “Isn’t it because you’re doing XXX?”?when a male colleague did not turn on his camera.

When the controversy arose, Choi’s side denied the claim, stating that he said, “Aren’t you playing 'jjaljjal-i'?” but criticism inside and outside the party continued. Consequently, the Democratic Party’s Ethics Tribunal decided in June last year to impose a severe penalty of ‘six months suspension of party membership’ on Choi for the sexual harassment allegation. However, as Choi filed for a retrial, the issue has remained unresolved for over a year since the remark.

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