“Me Too” Revelations

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With more women in Korea coming forward with revelations of sexual harassment, the "me too" movement has even made its way to the National Assembly. In a courageous move, some victims have even disclosed the names of their powerful abusers.

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A message entitled "Mustering the courage" was posted on the National Assembly's website on Monday afternoon. The person who wrote the message introduced herself as one of the lawmaker's secretaries. She said that she had been sexually assaulted by her supervisor, the lawmaker's aide, over three years starting in 2012. She accused the perpetrator of demanding kisses from her, using sexually explicit language and making inappropriate physical contact with her. The woman added that although she expressed her anguish to the perpetrator, it was of no use, and that she still cannot fall asleep without alcohol or pills. Sources say the alleged perpetrator currently works in the office of an opposition party lawmaker. Similar revelations have been made in succession on a social media site used by lawmakers' aides. Some of the victims of sexual assault say they even have recorded files and text messages related to the incidents. But most of the victims confessed that they had been afraid to come forward because of the perpetrators' influence in the National Assembly. With one woman even claims that she had been sexually assaulted by Chungcheongnam-do Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung, the "Me Too" movement is likely to spread quickly across the political sector as well.