From Politics to Religion... 'Power-Related Sexual Crimes' Erupting Regardless of Location

'Power-based Sexual Crimes' Exploiting Status Increase Annually
Occurs Not Only in Politics but Also in Religious Circles and Universities
Victims Psychologically Controlled Through Grooming and Gaslighting for Sexual Exploitation
Possibility of Undisclosed Cases Remaining Under the Surface

Kim Hye-jung, Deputy Director of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, is holding a placard with the phrase "We stand in solidarity with the victims" at a press conference held on the 13th at the Korea Women's Hotline office in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Lim Joo-hyung] As the fact that the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, was accused of sexually harassing his former secretary for four years has come to light, controversy over 'power-based sexual crimes' is expected to spread.

Power-based sexual crimes, in which victims are sexually exploited by leveraging political or social status, are continuously increasing. Moreover, these crimes occur indiscriminately across political and religious sectors, and due to the nature of the crimes, it is easy to conceal the victimization, raising serious concerns.

Experts suggest that, apart from judicial processing by investigative agencies, procedures should be established within organizations to conduct internal investigations to prevent the concealment of power-based sexual crimes.

Kim Jae-ryun, the legal representative of former secretary A, who filed the sexual harassment accusation against Mayor Park, held a press conference on the 13th at the 'Korean Women's Hotline' office in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, stating, "The victim was sexually harassed through coercion for four years, and the harassment continued even after being transferred to another department."

According to Attorney Kim's claims, Mayor Park called A to his office, initiated physical contact under the pretext of taking photos together, and continuously sexually harassed her by sending obscene messages in a secret Telegram chatroom.

On the same day, Go Mi-kyung, the representative of Korean Women's Hotline, stated, "We clearly recognize this case as a power-based sexual crime," and pointed out, "Revealing the truth of the case is the first step toward restoring human rights."

Former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, who was prosecuted for sexually assaulting his executive secretary by abusing his position, was sentenced to prison. The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sang-hwan) upheld the lower court's ruling in Ahn's appeal trial held in September last year. Photo by Yonhap News

This is not the first time that controversy over power-based sexual crimes has erupted in the public service sector. In April, former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don admitted to sexually harassing a female public official and abruptly resigned. Former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung was prosecuted in 2018 for repeatedly sexually assaulting his former secretary Kim Ji-eun by abusing his position and was sentenced to prison.

Power-based sexual crimes are not limited to the political sphere. In May, Pastor B of a church in Incheon was indicted without detention on charges of repeatedly sexually assaulting female congregants over several years. Due to issues of sexual violence and harassment by some professors against students, on March 28, student councils and organizations from 28 universities formed a 'Joint Response for Resolving Power-based Sexual Violence in Universities.'

The number of cases prosecuted for power-based sexual crimes is steadily increasing. According to data from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 12th, last year, 13 people were prosecuted for 'sexual intercourse by coercion in the course of duty,' marking the highest number in five years. Charges of sexual harassment by coercion in the course of duty have exceeded 100 cases annually for five consecutive years, with 58 people prosecuted in the first half of this year alone.

In particular, due to the nature of these crimes involving the use of the perpetrator's political or social status, it is pointed out that there are likely many more unreported cases of victimization.

Many cases involve psychological domination of the victim through 'grooming' and 'gaslighting' before committing sexual violence, and victims bear a heavy burden in exposing the facts because the perpetrators often hold high social status.

On July 7 last year, a rally for "Resolving Power-Based Sexual Crimes on University Campuses" was held in front of Yeouinaru Station in Yeouido, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on March 5, Kim, who appeared on JTBC's 'Newsroom' to reveal the sexual assault by former Governor Ahn, expressed psychological distress, saying, "(Ahn) always said, 'I shouldn't have done that, it was shameful,' and apologized mentioning the Me Too movement, but then did it again. I thought I could never escape from the governor."

Experts emphasize that when sexual violence incidents occur within specific organizations or institutions, procedures must be guaranteed to allow internal investigations to function properly.

Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University stated in an interview on CBS Radio's 'Sisa Jaki Jung Kwan-yong' on the 14th, "Public institutions and educational institutions have procedures to immediately investigate when issues such as sexual violence arise, and disciplinary committees are convened based on the investigation results. The problem is that these procedures have not been properly implemented."

She added, "Ensuring that such internal audit procedures function properly is essential to prevent additional victims and for the welfare of workers."