Jihyun Park: "Democratic Party's Fall Due to Sexual Crimes... Hyun Geun-taek Must Be Strictly Disciplined"

Park Ji-hyun: "Power-type sexual crimes have led to the downfall of the Democratic Party"
"We must fulfill our responsibility as a political party in responding to sexual crimes"

Former Co-Chair of the Democratic Party Emergency Committee Park Ji-hyun is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 20th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Park Ji-hyun, former emergency committee chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, argued that the party should reconsider its decision regarding Jeong Bong-ju, director of the Democratic Party Education and Training Institute, who was deemed "qualified" by the General Election Candidate Verification Committee. She also stated that Hyun Geun-taek, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, who was involved in a controversy over sexually harassing remarks at a drinking party, should be "strictly disciplined."

On the 15th, Park said on Facebook, "A series of power-related sexual crimes have led the Democratic Party to collapse. These were committed by Ahn Hee-jung, Oh Geo-don, Park Won-soon, Park Wan-joo, numerous metropolitan and local council members, members of the National Assembly, and countless unnamed secondary perpetrators." She mentioned Jeong Bong-ju, who had been embroiled in Me Too and other controversies over past sexual harassment allegations, and Hyun Geun-taek, recently accused of sexual harassment, calling out the Democratic Party's complacent response by recalling previous sexual misconduct cases.

Hyun Geun-taek, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, registered as a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do in the 22nd National Assembly election (Photo by Yonhap News).

She particularly emphasized, "As a political party, we must take responsibility not just to win elections but for all sexual crimes occurring in this society," adding, "Looking at these cases, the Democratic Party is still not free from sexual crime controversies. The pressure and secondary victimization inflicted on Hyun Geun-taek’s sexual harassment victims are at a devastating level. There are even comments telling victims to endure it for the sake of the 'representative.'"

Former Chairperson Park directly criticized, "What we need to pay attention to is that there should be no secondary victimization by perpetrators," and said, "Secondary victimization is not only about insulting victims. The qualification approval of sexual crime perpetrators and incomprehensible responses such as warning sanctions are also secondary victimization." She stated, "The Democratic Party must immediately separate victims and perpetrators and ensure that victims do not suffer further harm," and added, "I hope the Democratic Party reflects on the past, focuses on the present, and moves forward into the future."

Jung Bong-ju, Director of the Democratic Party Education Training Institute (Photo by Yonhap News)

Meanwhile, Hyun Geun-taek, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute of the Democratic Party, who is preparing to run for Jungwon, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is under investigation by the party’s Ethics Committee following reports on December 29 last year about his sexually harassing remarks. The controversy arose after allegations that Hyun, attending a year-end gathering of a local civic group, made remarks such as "Are you a married couple?" and "Do you live together?" directed at candidate A and A’s secretary B, both from the same electoral district.

Jeong Bong-ju, former member of the National Assembly and current director of the Democratic Party Education and Training Institute, was disqualified as a preliminary candidate in the 21st general election due to sexual violence allegations. In 2018, a media outlet reported allegations that Jeong had sexually harassed a journalist hopeful, A, at a hotel in 2011, sparking Me Too controversies.