Lee Soo-jung "Apology Insufficient for Sexual Crimes in Rep. Kim Jun-hyuk's Office"...Calls for Disclosure of Incident Handling Process

Lee Soo-jung, Suwon District Vice Chair of the People Power Party, called for full disclosure of the incident handling process regarding a sexual crime committed by a former Grade 4 aide in the office of Rep. Kim Jun-hyuk of the Democratic Party, who represents the same district.

Vice Chair Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly Media Center on the 23rd, stating, "Before accepting the perpetrator's resignation, it must be clarified whether the case was reported to the National Assembly Secretariat, whether it was referred to the grievance handling procedure, and whether involuntary resignation was considered," criticizing Rep. Kim's response.

Earlier, the Criminal Division 13 of Suwon District Court sentenced A, a former Grade 4 aide in Rep. Kim's office, to 2 years and 8 months in prison on July 9, for charges including abuse of authority and quasi-rape. A has appealed, and the second trial is currently ongoing.

According to the court verdict, A is accused of sexually harassing and quasi-raping B, a woman in her 20s and intern in the same office, at a lodging facility in Suwon on May 7 of last year. It was found that A acted as if he could influence the hiring and personnel decisions of the victim by leveraging his longtime friendship with Rep. Kim.

Vice Chair Lee stated, "The perpetrator is a middle and high school classmate of Rep. Kim and was the head of the campaign situation room during the general election," adding "The basis of the abuse of authority recognized by the court was precisely the friendship with Rep. Kim."

She particularly raised concerns about the fact that both the victim and perpetrator left the office on the day after the incident.

She said, "The victim informed a senior aide of the harm suffered and expressed her intention to resign, and the perpetrator also resigned on the same day. Rep. Kim should have guaranteed the victim's remaining internship period and separated her from the perpetrator to help her restore stability."

Regarding the handling of the perpetrator's resignation, she argued that "there was an option to withhold acceptance of the resignation and request involuntary resignation through the National Assembly Secretariat's sexual harassment and sexual violence grievance handling procedure."

She continued, "The perpetrator's voluntary resignation was actually considered a favorable sentencing factor in the first trial judgment. The office's acceptance of the resignation ultimately worked in the perpetrator's favor," she criticized.

Vice Chair Lee also demanded disclosure of whether the incident was reported in accordance with the Act on Prevention of Sexual Violence and whether measures to prevent recurrence were submitted. She also raised suspicions that the perpetrator participated in a local election campaign after leaving the office in June local elections, questioning whether Rep. Kim was aware beforehand.

Regarding Rep. Kim's apology acknowledging staff management responsibility through SNS on the 22nd, she stated, "The apology came only after 1 year and 5 months had passed since the incident and media coverage emerged. It must be clarified what victim protection measures and recurrence prevention measures were prepared during that time," she emphasized.

Finally, Vice Chair Lee demanded that Rep. Kim disclose the circumstances of the perpetrator's appointment and measures taken after the incident occurred, while also urging the Democratic Party central leadership and Gyeonggi Province party to conduct party-level investigations and devise recurrence prevention measures.

Vice Chair Lee stated, "Sexual crime is not a partisan issue. This is not a matter that should end with an apology from an individual legislator."

She also pointed out that Rep. Kim apologized on the 22nd after media coverage, 1 year and 5 months after the incident occurred, and urged him to "specifically disclose what victim protection measures and recurrence prevention measures were prepared during that time."

She then demanded that Rep. Kim disclose the circumstances of the perpetrator's appointment and measures taken after the incident occurred, while also urging the Democratic Party central leadership and Gyeonggi Province party to conduct party-level investigations and devise recurrence prevention measures.

Vice Chair Lee emphasized, "Sexual crime is not a partisan issue. This is not a matter that should end with an apology from an individual legislator."

Meanwhile, Rep. Kim stated through his social media on the 22nd, "Regardless of the reason, I sincerely apologize to the voters and people for the unfortunate conduct of a staff member from our office," and bowed his head in apology.

He continued, "I bear great responsibility for failing to properly manage the staff I work with," and "I sincerely apologize to the victim and family members who have suffered great trauma."