Former Korean-French Minister Under Investigation Again for Sexual Harassment of Staff During Seoul Business Trip

French Prosecutors Launch Preliminary Investigation into Former Minister of State Reform Jean-Vincent Plac?

Vincent Place (53), former minister

Jean-Vincent Plac? (53), former Minister in charge of National Reform in the French government under Fran?ois Hollande, is under investigation by prosecutors for allegations of sexual harassment against an employee, according to investigative media outlet Mediapart and AFP news agency on the 2nd (local time).

A female employee (35) who worked with Plac? filed a complaint claiming she was "sexually harassed" by Plac? between 2012 and 2016, and prosecutors launched a preliminary investigation on the 23rd of last month.

The victim alleges that Plac? deliberately touched her body parts such as her buttocks and chest inside a car during a meeting held in Lille, France in August 2015 and on a business trip to Seoul, South Korea in May 2016.

Plac? stated, "I will answer all questions from the investigative authorities, but at this stage, I do not wish to make any comments."

Earlier, in March, Plac? was fined 5,000 euros (approximately 6.67 million KRW) for sexually harassing a police officer stationed at the entrance of the official residence.

He was investigated for attempting to kiss the police officer in October 2016 and inviting her to drink at his home, saying, "If you come with me, you will see something good."

In September 2018, he was prosecuted for verbally abusing a woman in her twenties at a bar and insulting police officers, receiving a suspended prison sentence of three months and a fine of 1,000 euros (approximately 1.33 million KRW).

Plac? was born in South Korea in 1968 and was adopted to France at the age of seven. Elected as a senator affiliated with the European Ecology ? The Greens (EELV) in 2011, he served as Minister in charge of National Reform from February 2016 to May 2017, leading the digital transformation and regulatory reform of the French economy.