'Sexual Harassment by Aide' Former Lawmaker Park Wanju Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison and Detained in First Trial

Former lawmaker Park Wan-joo, who was indicted on charges including sexual harassment of an aide, was sentenced to prison in the first trial and was taken into custody in court.

Former independent lawmaker Park Wan-joo, who was indicted without detention on charges including sexual harassment of a staff member, is responding to reporters' questions as he attends the first trial session held at the Seoul Southern District Court on August 30 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 18th, the Criminal Division 14 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Jang Sung-hoon) announced at the sentencing hearing for Park’s charge of forced sexual assault that he was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. The court immediately detained Park in court, citing "risk of flight."

The court found Park guilty of the charge of forced sexual assault and defamation for informing local constituency officials that the aide attempted to reach a settlement. However, he was acquitted of the charge of causing injury through forced sexual assault, which resulted in post-traumatic stress disorder, and the charge of abuse of authority for attempting to dismiss the aide after the aide reported the sexual harassment to the Democratic Party’s Sexual Violence Reporting Counseling Center.

The court stated, "The defendant committed a very serious crime by forcibly sexually assaulting the victim against her will and publicly alleging an attempt at a sexual violence settlement, thereby damaging her honor. He did not make sincere efforts to restore the victim and further damaged her honor by disclosing details of the compensation negotiations to others."

Park was indicted for forcibly sexually assaulting A, his aide at the time, at a karaoke bar and nearby parking lot in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on December 9, 2021, causing post-traumatic stress disorder. After it became known in May 2022 that he had been accused of sexual harassment, he was expelled from the Democratic Party and did not run in this year’s general election. Park’s side announced plans to appeal immediately after the sentencing.

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