"Victims' Appeals Ignored, Seoul City Must Investigate," Kwon In-sook Urges Park Won-soon Truth Commission

"Form a Fact-Finding Committee to Clearly Investigate and Clarify"

On the 15th, female lawmakers from the ruling party, including Kwon In-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea, called for the formation of a fact-finding committee regarding the sexual harassment accusation case against the late Mayor Park Won-soon.
Photo by CBS Radio 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' broadcast screen capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Female lawmakers from the ruling party, including Kwon In-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea, have called for the formation of a fact-finding committee regarding the sexual harassment accusation against the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. They particularly emphasized that the investigation should focus on the internal system of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which failed to respond to the victim's appeals.

On the 15th, Representative Kwon appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" and stated, "To clearly uncover the truth of this incident, we must establish a fact-finding committee," adding that all 30 female lawmakers of the Democratic Party have agreed to participate.

Representative Kwon said, "We share the awareness that there was a process in which the victim's (sexual harassment) appeals were not properly acknowledged, and that process must be accurately investigated," and added, "Therefore, we believe that the Seoul Metropolitan Government holds the primary responsibility."

She continued, "Regarding the sexual harassment facts, currently, it seems that the investigative authorities do not have grounds to advance the investigation, so there needs to be further discussion on how to proceed," emphasizing, "Our focus is on the part where the victim made appeals, but the system did not function or accept them."

Regarding the formation of the fact-finding committee, she said, "An objective person should chair the committee, and if possible, members from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the National Human Rights Commission, and experts on women's rights should all participate to coldly and accurately uncover the issues in this process," adding, "We consider this our responsibility."

On internal party discussions about the fact-finding committee, she added, "Currently, the police are investigating secondary damages, and we are urging the Seoul Metropolitan Government to conduct an investigation," and said, "We will monitor the situation, have further social discussions on the investigative aspects, and then decide on the feasibility and the party's response."