[Summary] Nam In-soon’s 'Belated Apology' Met with Oh Shin-hwan’s Call to 'Step Down Like Kim Jong-chul'

Human Rights Commission: "Park Won-soon's Behavior Constitutes Sexual Harassment"
Nam In-soon Bows Head After 6 Months, "Deep Apology to Victims"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan, who is running in the Seoul mayoral by-election, announced policy pledges for a fact-finding investigation related to the sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at the National Assembly communication office on the 25th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Oh Shin-hwan, former People Power Party lawmaker challenging for Seoul mayor, said on the 26th that he hopes Nam In-soon, Democratic Party lawmaker, will "take responsibility like Kim Jong-cheol (former leader of the Justice Party)." Nam was involved in a secondary victimization controversy last year for proposing the term 'victim complainant' during the sexual harassment scandal involving the late Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor, and is also suspected of leaking the fact that Park was accused of sexual harassment.

Oh posted on his Facebook that "Following the court, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also confirmed the criminal facts of former Mayor Park. This came six months after the incident occurred," adding, "Many things happened related to this case during that time. Although the forms were diverse, the essence was the same: relentless secondary victimization against the victim."

He said, "If you trace back to the origin of 'making the victim a culprit,' the first word you encounter is 'victim complainant,'" and criticized, "The Democratic Party labeled the victim as a 'victim complainant' and accused them of 'false Me Too and false accusation.' This became the starting point of all subsequent secondary victimization. At the center of this is lawmaker Nam."

He continued, "Nam's fault is not only in stigmatizing with the term 'victim complainant.' By informing the Seoul City Gender Advisor, who was his former aide, about Park's accusation, the sexual harassment case escalated into a death case," and pointed out, "The victim said that Nam and others deprived them of the opportunity to 'follow legal procedures, receive an apology for wrongful acts, and possibly forgive the other party,' demanding a 'sincere apology and resignation from the assembly.'

Oh said, "If Nam had sincerely apologized and asked for forgiveness at that time, the situation might have calmed down. However, Nam mocked the victim again with the wordplay of 'I only asked, I didn't inform,'" and criticized, "Only today, after the NHRC investigation results were announced, did he belatedly express an apology."

He then raised his voice, quoting Choi In-ho, senior spokesperson of the Democratic Party, saying Nam is "a figure who has voiced gender issues and gender equality values more than anyone else. Therefore, Nam's past words and actions are 'beyond shocking, they are appalling.'"

Finally, Oh said, "The time to brush this off roughly is over. Just as Kim Jong-cheol cleanly admitted his mistakes and stepped down, I hope Nam also steps down," adding, "Those who must take responsibility should do so for the victim's return to daily life and discussions on prevention measures to be possible."

Nam In-soon, Democratic Party of Korea member. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the NHRC judged in a plenary session the day before that the sexual conduct by former Mayor Park toward the victim constituted sexual harassment. This conclusion came six months after the victim's legal team and women's organizations requested an investigation and the NHRC decided to conduct an ex officio investigation.

Nam issued a statement saying, "I humbly accept the NHRC's ex officio investigation results on former Mayor Park's sexual harassment, etc. I deeply apologize to the victim."

He said, "At the time of the incident, my phone call to the Seoul City Gender Advisor asking 'if there was any unpleasant matter' caused considerable confusion, and this was my inexcusable fault," adding, "I apologize for hurting all women because of this."

He continued, "Referring to the victim as a 'victim complainant' caused misunderstandings and distrust in politics as if denying the victim's harm," and said, "My short-sightedness caused the victim greater wounds."

He also said, "I empathize with the victim's pain and will especially strive to prevent further secondary victimization. I will do my best to help the victim's pain heal and life recover," adding, "I thought I had lived my life dedicated to improving women's rights, but through this incident, I have reflected on how lacking I truly am."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party demanded Nam's resignation. Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement, "We demand the resignation of lawmaker Nam, who is suspected of leaking the accusation to former Mayor Park's side," and criticized, "Democratic Party female lawmakers who conspired to create the term 'victim complainant' along with Nam must offer a satisfactory apology and take appropriate responsibility for insulting the public and women."