"Park Won-soon is dead but still harassing the victims"

Controversy Intensifies Over 'First Defense' Documentary Denying Sexual Violence
Justice Party and Civic Groups Demand "Cancel the Release"

"Documentaries are harsh secondary victimization toward the victims."

As the documentary film 'First Defense,' which denies the sexual violence committed by the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, is set to be released in August, citizens have demanded its withdrawal.

On the 27th, 760 citizens from 46 civic groups and political parties, including the Justice Party and Workplace Bullying 119, held a press conference at the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

'First Defense' is a documentary based on a book about the sexual harassment case involving former Mayor Park, and it has been criticized as "secondary victimization."

'First Argument' poster. The release has been postponed to August. [Photo by People Who Believe in Park Won-soon]

Park Eun-ha, Chairperson of the Gender Violence Special Response Committee of Workplace Bullying 119, pointed out, "Although the perpetrator is dead, his ghost continues to torment the victim," adding, "This documentary is nothing but harsh secondary victimization toward the victim."

She continued, "I have no interest in whether Park Won-soon was a person who defended the world or what kind of person he was in life. He was a sexual violence perpetrator who made the victim's working environment a living hell," emphasizing, "His death cannot be defended in the name of freedom of expression."

Kim Ga-young, Deputy Spokesperson of the Justice Party, also said, "(The documentary makers) are not trying to believe the truth but are trying to prevent their political beliefs symbolized by the name Park Won-soon from collapsing," adding, "The perpetrator's acts can never be covered up by anything, and the facts you refuse to acknowledge will not change."

Kim Se-jung, a labor attorney at Dolkkot Labor Law Office, stated, "Although the National Human Rights Commission and the judiciary conservatively judged the victim's claims due to the perpetrator's death, they recognized (the late Park Won-soon's) sexual harassment," adding, "The Supreme Court ruled that 'the perpetrator's motive or intention is not important, and the victim's coping and testimony should not be dismissed without considering the victim's situation' in judging sexual harassment and sexual violence. The documentary makers ignore these judgments and continue to commit secondary victimization," sharply criticizing.

Lee Ga-hyun, Co-Representative of the Feminism Party Preparatory Committee, began her remarks holding the original book of the documentary, 'The Birth of Tragedy.' She criticized Son Byung-kwan, a reporter from OhmyNews and the author of the book, saying, "He showed a double standard, being lenient toward those defending former Mayor Park and suspicious toward those supporting the victim."

Lee said, "Reporter Son raised suspicions that sexual harassment witnessed by others was not sexual harassment because others were watching, and claimed that without witnesses, there is no evidence to prove the fact," adding, "In his worldview, victims cannot prove their victimization by any means. His book lacked any gender perspective that a journalist covering sexual violence cases should have."

"The act of making a documentary breaks the victim's will to live"

The press conference titled 'Speaking Together with the Victims of the Seoul Mayor's Sexual Violence Case' held in March 2021.
[Photo by Joint Press Corps]

At the press conference, Park Eun-ha, Chairperson of the Gender Violence Special Response Committee of Workplace Bullying 119; Lee Ga-hyun and Lee So-yoon, Co-Representatives of the Feminism Party Preparatory Committee; Kim Se-jung, labor attorney at Dolkkot Labor Law Office; Lee Dae-ho, former Media Secretary of Seoul Metropolitan Government; and Kim Ga-young, Deputy Spokesperson of the Justice Party, attended.

Lee Dae-ho, former Media Secretary of Seoul Metropolitan Government, who worked in the secretariat with the sexual violence victim of former Mayor Park from December 2016 to April 2018, also attended.

He said, "The criticism, personal information leaks, and unnecessary attention directed at the victim after the incident were beyond imagination. I thought the secondary victimization would end once the Human Rights Commission's investigation results came out, but I felt great despair at those who refused to accept the results."

He added, "Making a documentary breaks the victim's will to live. If you have something to say, present it as evidence in the administrative lawsuit being conducted by the deceased's bereaved family," urging the withdrawal of the release.

In the latter part of the press conference, they performed a demonstration by marking scissors on a placard that read 'First Defense' with a ribbon and putting a star mark on a placard that said 'Unrepentant Secondary Victimization.' The organizers explained, "We prepared this performance to mean that this documentary is not a defense but an excuse and is just an unrepentant secondary victimization that has been repeated multiple times."

Earlier, Park Ji-hyun, former Co-Chair of the Democratic Party Emergency Committee, criticized the Democratic Party on her Facebook on the 26th, saying, "Ahead of the 3rd anniversary of the late Park Won-soon, there was news that a documentary glorifying Park's sexual violence would be released, but no one criticizes it."

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