Park Young-sun "Sincerely Apologize to Park Won-soon Victims... Want to Meet Them Personally"

Park Young-sun, a preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor from the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Democratic Party Seoul mayoral candidate debate held on the morning of the 22nd of last month at BBS Buddhist Broadcasting System radio in Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, said on the 8th regarding the sexual harassment case of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, "On behalf of the party, I sincerely apologize once again to the victim."

On this day, the 113th 'International Women's Day,' Park made this statement at the campaign office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, emphasizing, "We will do everything possible to help the victim return to her daily life as soon as possible."

This is the first time Park has officially apologized in public regarding the former mayor's case. Right after declaring her candidacy for Seoul mayor in January, Park said, "If more apologies are needed, we should do so. We must do everything possible to comfort the hearts of the victims and those who have been hurt." After the National Human Rights Commission acknowledged the sexual harassment by the former mayor, she also mentioned, "If we need to apologize to the victim, it is right to sincerely apologize."

When asked how she would support the victim's return to daily life, Park replied, "There will be a point when the victim feels our apology is sufficient," adding, "At that time, I would like to meet and have a direct conversation."

She continued, "We need to change the social atmosphere that makes wounded women feel very lonely and sometimes frustrated," and said, "We must change workplace culture to prevent secondary harm and establish dedicated counselors within workplaces."

On this day, Park announced her women's policy plans, including ▲expanding public care services to prevent women's career interruptions ▲setting guidelines to prohibit discrimination in family care ▲publishing statistics on men's parental leave and providing incentives to excellent companies ▲enacting ordinances and campaigns to prohibit discrimination against workers ▲implementing a gender-equal wage disclosure system ▲providing smart safety call devices to single female households ▲dispatching maternal and newborn health care workers for 2 to 4 weeks ▲and establishing a women's violence prevention team.

She emphasized, "We must create an equal society where women are not restricted in social activities simply because they are women," and added, "We will support women so that their careers are not interrupted due to childbirth and childcare burdens."