Seoul City, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Police Agency Fully Accept Human Rights Commission Recommendations Regarding the Late Park Won-soon Sexual Harassment Case

On January 25, Choi Young-ae, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, along with standing commissioners, held a plenary meeting at the National Human Rights Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul. On this day, the Commission approved the report on the official investigation into sexual harassment by the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced that the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the National Police Agency have expressed their willingness to accept the recommendations made based on the Commission's ex officio investigation results into the sexual harassment case involving the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in January this year, aimed at protecting the victim and preventing recurrence.

On the 12th, the Human Rights Commission stated that each institution accepted the Commission's recommendations and submitted implementation plans.

On January 25th, the Human Rights Commission held a plenary meeting to deliberate and resolve the ex officio investigation into former Mayor Park's sexual harassment. At that time, the Commission announced, "The sexual conduct by former Mayor Park towards the victim in relation to his official duties constitutes sexual harassment under the National Human Rights Commission Act," and "We have decided to recommend improvements to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and related agencies for victim protection and prevention of recurrence."

Regarding the Commission's recommendations, the Seoul Metropolitan Government responded that it will reflect the victim's wishes and consult to ensure the victim can safely return to work, while continuously notifying all employees to prevent secondary harm. Additionally, it plans to support the deletion of malicious online comments from external sources as part of victim protection measures and enact the "Seoul Metropolitan Government Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Prevention and Secondary Harm Prevention Regulations," providing education on specific roles for each member. The mayor’s secretary will be selected through an open recruitment process, and a "Secretary Work Manual" will be prepared to limit secretarial duties to official tasks and disclose task assignments.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has amended the "Framework Act on Gender Equality" to publicly disclose the names of heads of national and local government institutions who fail to participate in sexual harassment prevention education. The Ministry also promptly refers investigations to the Human Rights Commission upon receiving cases from heads of institutions at the "Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Reporting Centers in the Public Sector," considering the victim's wishes. It has prepared and distributed a "Standard Guideline for Preventing Secondary Harm from Violence Against Women" and is currently reviewing and promoting the establishment of guidelines across ministries.

Lastly, the National Police Agency has established the "Regulations on Police Officers' Information Collection and Processing," defining the clear scope of duties for intelligence police officers. It conducted on-site training on the basic principles of intelligence police duties for over 3,000 intelligence officers nationwide at city and provincial police agencies.

The Human Rights Commission also expressed the opinion that the Korea Association of Governors should promote self-regulation to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence by local government heads. Following the Commission's recommendation, the Association promptly issued a joint declaration to actively prepare measures to enhance gender sensitivity and strengthen self-purification efforts.

A Human Rights Commission official stated, "We consider that the recommended institutions have accepted the Commission's recommendations and plan to continuously monitor the actual implementation and institutional establishment going forward."