[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Former Busan Mayor Oh Geo-don, who is accused of sexually harassing a subordinate employee in his office during working hours, has escaped the risk of detention.
On the morning of the 2nd, Judge Cho Hyun-chul of the Busan District Court's Criminal Division 1 held a pre-trial detention hearing for former Mayor Oh and dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution.
Judge Cho stated the reason for dismissal, saying, "Considering the location, time, content of the crime, and the relationship with the victim, the case is serious, but based on the principle of non-detention investigation and the fact that all evidence has been secured, there is no necessity for detention. Since the suspect admitted to the crime, it is difficult to see any risk of evidence tampering or flight."
Following the dismissal of the warrant, former Mayor Oh, who had been waiting at the Dongnae Police Station detention center, was released and went home.
Former Mayor Oh is accused of calling a subordinate employee to his office during working hours in early April and sexually harassing them. The employee reported the sexual harassment to the Busan Sexual Violence Counseling Center after the incident.
On the 23rd of the same month, as this fact became known, former Mayor Oh admitted to the sexual harassment at a press conference and resigned. After his resignation, he disappeared for nearly a month and then appeared privately at the Busan Police Agency on the 22nd of last month to undergo suspect questioning.
The police judged that former Mayor Oh's charges were serious and applied the charge of forced sexual molestation, which carries a heavier sentence than sexual harassment by abuse of authority in the workplace, and requested an arrest warrant.
Under current law, forced sexual molestation is punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 15 million won. Sexual harassment by abuse of authority in the workplace is punishable by up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 15 million won.
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