'Sexual Assault Allegations' Against Park Won-soon: Did He Know About the Accusation in Advance?

The portrait and urn of the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, are heading to the hearse on the afternoon of the 13th at Seoul Memorial Park in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after cremation, to be transported to Mayor Park's hometown, Changnyeong, Gyeongnam.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] It has been reported that before former secretary A, who accused the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of sexual harassment, filed a complaint with the police, the Seoul city government had already identified the related matter internally and reported it to former Mayor Park.

On the 14th, Kyunghyang Shinmun cited a ruling party official saying, "It is understood that the Seoul city government was aware of the complaint before the Blue House received a report from the police about the case being filed."

Previously, the Seoul city government stated that it learned of the sexual violence allegation complaint through media reports on the 9th, when former Mayor Park was missing, which is expected to cause controversy over the authenticity of the information.

Attorney Kim Jae-ryeon, representing the victim who accused the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of sexual harassment and other charges, held a press conference and made a statement on the afternoon of the 13th at the Korean Women's Hotline office in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to reports, former secretary A had leaked the information to several media outlets before filing the complaint. It is also reported that women's organization officials likely became aware of the case during this process.

Ms. A filed a complaint with the police around 4:30 p.m. on the 8th, alleging sexual harassment by Mayor Park, and reportedly underwent a complainant investigation until 2:30 a.m. the following day.

Meanwhile, the police have decided to conduct forensic analysis on former Mayor Park's mobile phone. It is reported that the phone likely contains information about his whereabouts before death as well as details related to the sexual harassment allegations.