COURT ACKNOWLEDGES EX-MAYOR’S HARASSMENT

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Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon had taken his own life after being accused of sexual harrassment last year. The police closed the case late last month with a ‘no right to indict’ decision since the mayor was no longer alive to be subjected to legal probes. However, the court acknowledged that Park Won-soon had committed sexual harrassment in another sexual offense case involving an employee of the mayoral secretaries’ office.

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​An employee of the mayoral secretaries’ office identified as Mr. A was put on trial for sexually assaulting an intoxicated co-worker last April and causing her to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to three years and six months in prison and arrested him immediately in the courtroom. The victim in this case is a former mayoral secretary who had accused the ex-mayor of sexually harassing her. Mr. A had claimed during his trial that the victim’s PTSD was caused not by his actions, but by the late mayor’s sexual harassment. However, the court made it clear that Mr. A’s sexual assault was the direct cause of the victim’s trauma. The court nonetheless said that it is a clear fact that the victim suffered psychological distress from the deceased mayor’s sexual harassment. Based on the woman’s counseling records, the court concluded that Park had sent her pictures of him in his underwear or inappropriate text messages and talked about sexual intercourse on several occasions. Although it is only the first trial, the court acknowledged that the deceased mayor Park had indeed committed sexual offenses. The victim’s attorney said that there are still many attempts to distort and deny the truth concerning the late mayor, but it is fortunate that the court found some legitimacy in the victim’s claims.

[Soundbite] KIM JAE-RYEON(VICTIM’S ATTORNEY) : "We sued Mayor Park but lost a chance to appeal our case legally. The victim is at least comforted by the fact that the court recognized some of the damages caused by the mayor."

The attorney also urged the public to stop maligning the victim so that she can resume her normal life.