'Park Won-soon Sexual Harassment Allegation' Victim's Side "Strong Doubts About Seoul City's Fact-Finding Measures"

On the afternoon of the 16th, Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center and Korea Women's Hotline
Statement on Seoul City Public-Private Joint Investigation Team's Measures Announcement
"Seoul City lacks will to properly investigate the truth"
"Police must preserve evidence on the 6th floor of City Hall... Avoid using the term 'victim complainant'"

Kim Hye-jung, Deputy Director of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, holds a placard with the phrase "We stand in solidarity with the victims" at a press conference on the sexual harassment case involving the Seoul mayor, held on the 13th at the Korea Women's Hotline in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Women’s organizations supporting former secretary A, who accused the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, pointed out that "(the Seoul City) Mayor’s Office and Secretary’s Office had a work environment prone to sexual violence such as sexual harassment and sexual assault due to routine gender discrimination."

The Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center and Korea Women’s Hotline, which are jointly responding with the victim, released a statement on the afternoon of the 16th titled "Position on the Seoul City Fact-Finding Investigation Team’s Announcement," expressing doubts about the effectiveness of the measures proposed by the Seoul City 'Public-Private Joint Investigation Team."

Regarding the request for opinions on the Seoul City fact-finding investigation team, they stated, "It appears that Seoul City neither can properly investigate this case nor has the will to do so through the measures they have presented." Previously, Seoul City held an emergency press conference the day before, announcing the formation of a 'Public-Private Joint Investigation Team' consisting of women’s groups, human rights organizations, and legal experts to investigate the facts.

The victim support organizations demanded ▲ continuation of police investigations and preservation of evidence on the 6th floor of Seoul City Hall ▲ cessation of regressive responses by the Democratic Party and Seoul City, such as the use of the term 'complainant' ▲ disclosure of rank and department during media interviews by Seoul City officials ▲ and proposals for alternatives from the media.

These organizations revealed that the Seoul City Secretary’s Office had an atmosphere where sexual violence and sexual assault were routinely committed. They pointed out, "The nature of the work of the Seoul Mayor’s secretaries consisted of 'making the mayor feel good,'" adding, "This is not a reasonable job performance but reflects distorted gender roles imposed on female employees."

They claimed, "When former Mayor Park attended marathons, he demanded weekend early morning shifts, saying 'the records come out better if a female secretary is present.'" Furthermore, "When the mayor finished showering and entered the mayor’s office, the secretary had to bring his underwear, and the secretary picked up the mayor’s discarded sportswear and underwear, put them in a bag, and sent them to the mayor’s home." They clarified that distorted gender role theories were forced on female employees in the secretary’s office, stating, "When the mayor took a nap in the inner office with a bed inside the mayor’s office, a female secretary had to wake him up, and measuring the mayor’s blood pressure was also assigned as a female secretary’s duty."

Ms. A requested personnel transfers every six months starting from January 2016, but her requests were repeatedly denied. She was transferred in July 2019 and was asked to return to secretarial duties again in February this year.

They also disclosed circumstances where current and former Seoul City officials and secretarial staff exerted secondary harm or pressure on the victim. They said, "Since the accusation became known on the 8th, some current and former high-ranking officials, special appointments, fixed-term political aides, and secretaries contacted the victim," adding, "Only a very few showed any sense of responsibility or apology."

The women’s organizations condemned some high-ranking officials who contacted victim A, saying, "Are they trying to evade responsibility, downplay and conceal the issue, blame the victim, and spread secondary harm and regressive perceptions, as seen in cases like Ahn Hee-jung and Oh Geo-deun?"