Seoul Holds Funeral For Mayor As Accuser Details Years Of Alleged Sexual Harassment

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A group of mourners leaves the funeral of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at Seoul City Hall on Monday.

Lee Jin-man/AP

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Lee Jin-man/AP

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According to Kim Jae-ryun, a lawyer for the accuser, Park repeatedly made and asked for inappropriate physical contact. He allegedly sent «lewd text messages and pictures through the Telegram messaging app.

Her lawyer said she asked for help from officials in the Seoul city government, only to hear responses that trivialized Park’s actions as «mistakes.

The former secretary, who did not attend the press conference, was not named publicly.

Lee Mikyoung, the director of Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, told the press conference that Park’s behaviors had «typical characteristics of sexual violence using the threat of power.

Lee noted that Park’s actions are particularly distressing because he allegedly continued his actions in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Accusations of sexual misconduct have brought down two other prominent Democratic Party politicians in recent years — former South Chungcheong Gov. Ahn Hee-jung and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don.

In addition to the repeated accusations of sexual violence against top politicians of the center-left party, activists and some politicians have expressed concern about how the party’s leaders and supporters have responded to the latest allegations.

Some of Park’s supporters launched an online search to try to identify the accuser, while the party’s leader Lee Hae-chan swore at a reporter who asked him about the harassment complaint on Friday.

Faced with public outcry and calls to protect the accuser, Lee issued his first official apology on Monday through the party’s spokesperson, saying it «will do its best not to have this kind of incident repeated in the future. He offered his «consolation to the former secretary.

The accuser said in a message read by Kim Hyejung, the deputy director of KSVRC, that she «wanted to shout at [Park] in the safety of a courtroom to stop.

«I wanted to forgive him. I wanted a judgment of the law and a human apology, she wrote.

That wish can no longer be fulfilled, as the law enforcement cannot indict a dead person under South Korean law. The police investigation into her allegations is expected to close.

But Koh Mi-kyung, head of the Korea Women’s Hot Line, still called for «responsible action from the local and national governments, parliament and law enforcement at Monday’s press conference.

«The reality of the incident doesn’t disappear just because the accused is now absent, she said. «Accurately determining the facts should be the first step for recovering the victim’s rights.