The History of Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Members of the National Assembly... Is 'Tail Cutting' the Best Option?

Democratic Party Expels Park Wan-joo for Sexual Misconduct Two Weeks After Choi Kang-wook Controversy
Shift in Political Sexual Misconduct Trends Before and After Moon Jae-in Administration
Criticism of 'Scapegoating' Approach in Lawmaker Expulsions

Park Wan-joo, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Policy Coordination Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] The Democratic Party of Korea is facing difficulties due to sexual misconduct scandals. Following Representative Choi Kang-wook's remarks on the 28th of last month, criticism has intensified as Representative Park Wan-joo was expelled on the 12th due to an internal sexual misconduct case. There are calls for substantial alternatives beyond the 'scapegoating' behavior of leaving or expulsion whenever a problem arises.

Before the Moon Jae-in administration took office, the predecessors of the People Power Party, the Grand National Party and Saenuri Party, were at the center of sexual harassment incidents involving lawmakers. In the early 2000s, especially, Grand National Party lawmakers with backgrounds as judges and prosecutors were repeatedly involved in sexual scandals. Former Representative Jung In-bong lost his seat after being indicted for providing sexual favors to reporters during the 2000 general election. Former Representative Choi Yeon-hee voluntarily left the Grand National Party after a sexual harassment incident involving reporters was exposed in 2006, and in 2008, former Representative Chung Mong-joon was embroiled in a 'female reporter sexual harassment controversy.' During the Park Geun-hye administration, sexual harassment allegations continued involving ruling party Saenuri Party figures, including former Saenuri Party Standing Advisor Park Hee-tae, who was indicted for forcible molestation and received a suspended sentence.

However, after the Moon Jae-in government took office in 2017, the trend of sexual misconduct cases among lawmakers changed. In 2018, amid the spread of the #MeToo movement, former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, who was affiliated with the Democratic Party, was indicted on charges of sexual assault using his authority at work, causing a major scandal. As Ahn was a figure who had shown strong interest in women's rights issues and was a prominent presidential candidate, this shocked both women's groups and the political sphere.

The Democratic Party faced public criticism in 2020 as sexual harassment allegations against former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon were consecutively revealed. The unprecedented resignation of two metropolitan leaders due to power-based sexual crimes led the Democratic Party to promptly apologize to the public; however, controversy arose when former party leader Lee Hae-chan and others used the term 'complainants,' which was seen as causing secondary harm.

As sexual misconduct cases continued to emerge within the Democratic Party, criticism arose that this reflected the 'limits of self-proclaimed progressives and activists' and that the party's efforts were insufficient. On the 12th, Yoon Ho-jung, co-chair of the Democratic Party's Emergency Committee, stated, "We will not tolerate any sexual misconduct cases." However, public sentiment remains cold as the party has failed to uphold its past promise to "devise institutional preventive measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents."

There are also voices calling for the Democratic Party to take measures beyond expelling lawmakers. Jang Tae-soo, spokesperson for the Justice Party, argued, "The Democratic Party must hold lawmakers who commit sexual misconduct accountable through referral to the National Assembly Ethics Committee," and criticized, "They must keep in mind that repeated sexual crimes cause ongoing suffering to victims."