"Personal Information of Employee Unrelated to Lawsuit Leaked" ... Seoul City Plans Strong Response

On the 10th, when Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead, employees were arriving at Seoul City Hall. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will take strong action against the distribution of photos of employees unrelated to the case in which the late Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, was accused by a former secretary.

On the 10th, Seoul City stated, "A report of fake news damage related to the accusation against the late Mayor Park was received by the Human Rights Officer," adding, "Photos of employees completely unrelated to the accusation are being circulated on portals, mistakenly identified as the secretary involved."

The city explained, "The photos in question are from past Seoul city events and are rapidly spreading online without fact-checking," and "The employee appearing in the photos has never worked in the Seoul Mayor’s Secretariat."

It continued, "Due to this fake news without verification, an unrelated employee has become an innocent victim suffering severe mental distress," emphasizing, "If these photos are spread online or through messengers like KakaoTalk, or if related content is further disseminated, strong legal action will be taken."

It was reported that the employee filed a complaint with the Cyber Safety Division and Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the same day.

Mayor Park, who was found dead early this morning on Bukaksan Mountain, was reportedly accused of sexual harassment by a former secretary on the 8th. The police warned that they will strictly deal with any acts of revealing personal information or spreading rumors about the accuser.