Minister Lee Jung-ok "Continuously Communicating with Victims of the Park Won-soon Case"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Lee Jung-ok, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated that she is "continuously communicating with the victim" regarding the sexual harassment allegations against the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul.

On the 27th, during the Gender Equality and Family Committee's National Assembly audit, when Choi Yeon-sook, a lawmaker from the People's Party, pointed out that "it took three days for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to make a statement after the former Mayor Park's case, and they caused secondary harm by referring to the victim as a 'complainant victim,'" Minister Lee responded accordingly.

Minister Lee said, "I keep asking about the victim's well-being," and added, "We have been continuously communicating while the victim is protected within a protective system."

She continued, "In the case of Seoul City, we checked whether the individual could properly return to work, and we have been continuously consulting with Seoul City on improving organizational culture and measures to prevent recurrence. However, since the Human Rights Commission's investigation has begun, we are currently waiting for Seoul City's submission regarding the recurrence prevention measures."

Meanwhile, during the audit, there was also a partisan dispute over the attendance of witnesses and reference persons related to victims of power-based sexual crimes. Kim Jung-jae, the senior member of the Gender Equality and Family Committee from the People Power Party, pointed out before the questioning began, "The ruling party has not agreed to summon a single witness or reference person related to figures involved in power-based sexual crimes such as former Mayor Park and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, as well as individuals related to Justice and Peace Foundation and Jeong Dae-hyeop, who have been indicted for fraudulent receipt of government subsidies."

Kim also expressed regret that the ruling party had initially agreed to summon Lee Mi-kyung, head of the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center, as a reference person regarding the former Mayor Park case but suddenly withdrew the agreement under the party leadership's directive.

In response, Shin Dong-geun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "It is customary not to call witnesses for matters currently under investigation or trial," and added, "I believe that is the correct approach."