[Exclusive] Acting Mayor of Jongno District Accused of Sexual Harassment of Secretary Suspended from Position After Transfer to City Office

Jongno District Office Building Exterior View

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The acting mayor of Jongno District, who is accused of sexually harassing his secretary during his tenure as deputy mayor, was suspended from his position just one day after moving to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

On the 1st, Seoul City announced that it had suspended Kang Pilyoung, the acting mayor of Jongno District. A city official told this outlet, “As a measure to separate the perpetrator and the victim, and at the request that Mayor Jeong Munheon of Jongno District can no longer work together with him, we took this action. Regarding sexual misconduct investigations by the prosecution and police, we suspend positions without exception regardless of rank, so (Kang’s suspension) is part of that process.”

When Kang was transferred from Jongno District Office to Seoul City Hall the day before, some speculated that since Mayor Jeong had announced the suspension after taking office, Kang might have written his own transfer consent form to avoid it. Kang stated the previous day, “As a deputy mayor and acting mayor, I did not want to burden the new elected official, so I moved. After writing the transfer consent form, Seoul City also agreed to accept it.”

At that time, the victim’s side expressed concerns that this might have been a ‘trick’ to avoid suspension by Jongno District Office.

Kang is accused of sexually harassing victim A, who was his secretary for 1 year and 4 months from July 2020 to October last year while he was deputy mayor. A filed a complaint with the police and stated that she recorded the details of the incident in a diary.

A claimed that Kang suggested “Let’s go for a walk alone,” and when she refused, he pressured her under the pretext of greetings, causing her psychological trauma.

On the 23rd, the Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent Kang to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office with a partial indictment opinion on charges of forced molestation causing injury.

Kang is fully denying the allegations and has filed a counter-complaint against A at Jongno Police Station for attempted extortion.