Jang Hye-young: "Reckless Criminal Complaint Unrelated to Doctor... Hindering Return to Daily Life"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 26th, Jang Hye-young, a Justice Party lawmaker, strongly criticized a conservative civic group’s accusation against former Justice Party leader Kim Jong-chul, saying, "They are endlessly dragging me into a victim case against my will." Jang also mentioned, "I am reminded anew that sexual violence is also a fight against the tiresome practice of consuming such incidents as sensational news."

Through Facebook on the same day, Jang stated, "The most important thing in responding to sexual violence cases is to prioritize respecting the victim’s wishes," and directly criticized, "In that sense, it is very unfair to criminally accuse the perpetrator against my will." She added, "I feel great disgust toward all behaviors that consume sexual violence cases according to their own tastes without any empathy for the victim’s pain."

Earlier that morning, the civic group Halbindan filed a complaint against former leader Kim at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on charges of forcible molestation. Since sexual crimes are not subject to the complaint principle, investigations can be initiated even if the complaint comes from a third party rather than the victim. Hong Jeong-sik, head of Halbindan, said in the complaint, "The disgraceful misconduct of a public party leader unprecedented in party history shocked not only party members but the entire nation," and added, "Since this is not a matter that can end with resignation or removal from office, the accused perpetrator of sexual harassment must face strict legal judgment."

However, Jang criticized this, saying, "The actions of the civic group are a reckless act that hinders rather than helps my return to daily life." She emphasized, "The purpose of revising sexual crimes from complaint offenses to non-complaint offenses is to respect the victim’s wishes and expand their rights, not to ignore the victim’s wishes."