[Summary] Sexual Harassment by Party Leader... Jang Hye-young "Shocked by the Violation of Human Dignity"

Kim Jong-cheol, Leader of the Justice Party, Suspended Over Sexual Harassment
Victim Is Party Colleague Jang Hye-young

Jang Hye-young, Justice Party member. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Jang Hye-young, a member of the Justice Party who revealed that she was sexually harassed by Kim Jong-cheol, the party leader, expressed her feelings on the 25th, saying, "The shock and pain of having my dignity as a human being violated were truly immense." Earlier, Kim resigned abruptly from his position as party leader after the sexual harassment incident involving Jang was exposed that day.

On the same day, Jang wrote on her Facebook, "The Justice Party leadership, based on the principle of zero tolerance for sexual violence, decided to file a complaint with the party disciplinary committee and suspend the offender from his position. The perpetrator admitted to all the allegations, apologized, and accepted full political responsibility. Through this post, I declare that I am the victim of this incident," she said.

She opened up, saying, "The shock and pain of having my dignity as an equal human being violated by the party leader, who was a political comrade advocating for the eradication of gender violence and someone I deeply trusted, were truly immense. Also, in the process of raising this issue to restore my violated human dignity, I had to face various other fears and anxieties."

She continued, "Nevertheless, I decided to raise this issue and hold public accountability because I believed this was the way to restore my dignity as a human being and return to daily life, and also the way to serve the Justice Party, which I deeply love and belong to, as well as our society."

Jang said, "Even if the perpetrator is the party leader, or rather because he is the party leader, I believed that the Justice Party would handle the incident with a firm zero-tolerance stance," adding, "I am truly afraid of the unjust secondary harm that may come to me by revealing the victimization. But what I fear more is losing myself."

She also said, "If I, as the victim and a member of the National Assembly, were separated and forced to live forever hiding the facts of the victimization under the pretext of protecting the victim, I would, on the contrary, be trapped in this incident forever. Therefore, I want to talk about the pain I have experienced and truly be free from this issue."

Then Jang said, "The perpetrator did not respect me as an equal human being during the process of harming me, but in the process of my restoring dignity and returning to daily life, he admitted his wrongdoing, apologized, and did his best to respect me as a human being. Therefore, I was able to focus on recovery rather than anger," emphasizing, "After committing a wrongdoing, admitting it and actively taking responsibility should be the basic attitude all perpetrators must have in the future."

She wrote, "From my youth until now, living as a woman in Korean society, I have experienced countless sexual violence incidents. However, I was unable to properly raise the issue each time. I did not think I could raise the issue, and even if I did, I thought it would not be accepted."

Finally, Jang concluded her post by saying, "Even at this moment, countless victims are still desperately fighting to restore their dignity. I sincerely express solidarity with all victims. We will definitely return to daily life together."

Kim Jong-cheol, leader of the Justice Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the Justice Party held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly on the same day, announcing, "We inform party members and the public of a very shameful and distressing news," revealing Kim’s sexual harassment incident.

At the press conference, Bae Bok-joo, the deputy leader and head of the Justice Party’s Gender and Human Rights Headquarters, stated, "The sexual harassment incident involving Kim occurred on January 15, and the victim is Jang, a member of the National Assembly belonging to the party."

Deputy Leader Bae explained, "On the evening of the 15th, Kim had a dinner meeting with Jang in Yeouido for party affairs, and on the way out, the sexual harassment incident occurred. After much deliberation, Jang informed me, the head of the Gender and Human Rights Headquarters, about the incident on the 18th."

According to Article 21 of Party Regulation No. 7, which stipulates special disciplinary procedures for elected party officials, the representative meeting has the authority to "temporarily suspend the position of a party official until disciplinary resolution if there is sufficient reason to recognize the cause for discipline and the seriousness of the cause requires urgent suspension of duties."

The Justice Party held a leadership meeting before the press conference and decided to file a complaint with the Central Party Disciplinary Committee as part of the party’s disciplinary procedure and suspended Kim from his position according to party regulations. Kim expressed his intention to comply with the party’s decision regarding whether to leave the party.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Jang does not intend to pursue criminal charges.