Concerns Over 'Attempt to Restore Honor'
"May Cause Secondary Harm to Sexual Violence Victims"
The news that the grave of the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, is being moved to Moran Park in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, known as a 'holy site of democratization,' has sparked controversy. Moran Park is the resting place of many democratization and labor activists, including Jeon Tae-il, Kim Kyung-sook, Pastor Moon Ik-hwan, Baek Ki-wan, former Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae, and National Assembly member Roh Hoe-chan.
Park’s grave, currently located in Changnyeong County, Gyeongnam Province, will be relocated on the 1st of next month to the Democratic Martyrs' Cemetery in Moran Park, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. Changnyeong County is where Park’s birthplace is located.
Until now, the bereaved family has wanted to relocate the grave. This is because on September 20, 2021, a man in his 20s, Mr. A, dug up and damaged Park’s grave. Mr. A was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation for damaging the grave by digging holes approximately 30 cm and 50 cm in size using a field shovel.
The altar for the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon installed at Seoul Plaza on the morning of July 13, 2020. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Women’s groups have expressed concerns that this might be an attempt to restore Park’s honor. They argue that the attempt to reinstate him is premature, as the family’s administrative lawsuit has not yet been concluded.
After Park’s death in July 2020, his sexual harassment case was closed due to lack of prosecutorial jurisdiction. Regardless of the criminal proceedings, in January 2021, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) conducted an ex officio investigation and concluded that Park had engaged in behavior constituting sexual harassment against the victim. Accordingly, the NHRCK recommended that the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family take measures to protect the victim, prevent secondary harm, and improve systems for preventing and remedying sexual harassment and sexual violence.
However, Park’s bereaved family filed an administrative lawsuit, claiming that the NHRCK only listened to the victim’s allegations and stigmatized Park as a criminal. In November last year, the first trial court recognized the sexual harassment by Park and upheld the legality of the NHRCK’s ex officio investigation and recommendations, but the family appealed the decision.
There are also concerns that relocating the grave could cause secondary harm to the victim. Kim Chang-in, leader of the Youth Justice Party, expressed regret during a party executive committee meeting at the National Assembly on the 30th, stating, "The memorial stone for the democratic martyrs in Moran Park bears the phrase, 'The youth who wished to realize dreams for all people not in the sky but on the earth lie here.' This implies excluding sexual violence victims, who are still suffering from secondary harm, from 'all people.'"
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