The Paper's special contributor Shen Zaiyuan
On July 10, 2020, local time, in Seoul, South Korea, rescuers conducted an overnight search operation to find the body of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. Visual China figure
At 00:40 South Korean time on July 10, the body of Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul, South Korea, was found by police near Mt. Baekyue in the north of the city.
According to the temporary briefing of the police at 2 a.m. on the 10th, the chief of the criminal section of the Seoul Local Police Department replied in a reporter's question and answer: "The fire dog first found mayor Park's body, and according to the surrounding environment, no traces of his killing have been found." At the same time, information that can prove his identity was found in the carry-on objects at the scene, and the police have not yet found a suicide note at the scene. The complaint about Mayor Park is under investigation. From this, it can be provisionally judged that Park Won-soon's death was a suicide.
The incident should be the most shocking suicide in South Korea since the suicide of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. Any death has its own reasons behind it, and regarding the cause of Park Won-soon's death, the South Korean media believes that the most reliable statement at present is "sexual assault incident".
Sexual harassment allegations are being made at a time when the career is going well
On July 8, a woman who claimed to be Park Won-soon's former secretary accompanied by a lawyer went to the Seoul Local Police Department to report Park's misconduct, according to South Korean television stations such as SBS and MBC. According to the procedure, the police verify the identity of the prosecutor and the content of the report. Due to the seriousness of the matter, the police notified some of the superior departments and carefully verified the case.
So far, the incident has only been a review of the content of the complaint. However, it is reported that the woman who reported Park Won-soon filed a complaint with the police, which detailed how Mayor Park Won-soon "sexually harassed him many times." The woman stressed that she had only recently convinced herself to come out and report it, and that she was not the only victim. In response to the incident, the relevant personnel of the ruling party said that Mayor Park Won-soon said that he was "very wronged" after learning about the incident.
After this incident, Park Won-soon was suspected of leaving a last word missing. But police stressed that there is currently no link between the disappearance and the prosecution.
Before the incident, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating plummeted. Although some of them are due to the deterioration of inter-Korean relations and the recurrence of the new crown epidemic, an important reason is the sharp rise in real estate prices in South Korea, which has caused many people to be dissatisfied.
On July 10, South Korea's ruling Party, the Common Democratic Party, was preparing to convene a meeting to announce the reformed policy, but it was temporarily terminated due to the disappearance of Park Won-soon. It is worth noting that if the property price issue can be handled well, it will inevitably add points to the ruling party and Moon Jae-in.
In addition, before committing suicide, Mayor Park Won-soon actively participated in a number of activities and issued a number of political opinions on the post-COVID-19 era, reducing carbon emissions, and punishing fake news. Among them, the proposal to punish fake news has won the support of both the left and right groups of citizens. According to a survey by Research View, a South Korean investigative agency, in a survey of 1,000 adult citizens conducted between May 28 and 31, 73 percent of those with a political leaning of "conservative" supported the proposal, 92 percent of those with a political leaning of "progressive" supported the proposal, and most conservative and progressive supporters supported the proposal, indicating that the Korean people almost reached a consensus on fake news. Mayor Park Won-soon, who has long promoted the proposal, should be able to get more appreciation through this proposal, which will be extremely helpful for his subsequent political career. In this case, it is a big surprise to end oneself for no reason.
In short, based on Mayor Park's recent political campaign and support, there is no reason for him to commit suicide. Therefore, the South Korean media believe that the reason for his suicide is likely to be a "former secretary sexual harassment complaint".
"Gender Equality" Mayoral Collapse?
"Progressive values" and "gender equality" can be said to be labels of the left, and Mayor Park Won-soon, as a high-level figure in the left-wing political party, has long been a representative politician who actively promotes gender equality and women's rights.
On International Women's Day on March 8, Park Won-soon wrote on facebook: "Today is International Women's Day, and people all over the world are calling for '#EachforEqual' (equality for all) through the Internet. Women who have always opposed discrimination, violence, and exclusion dare to stand up against unequal values, and it is because of them that the world is gradually changing, and this change will continue. He also said that as the mayor of Seoul, he has been committed to creating a gender equal environment, and has also introduced many gender equality policies, and he will continue to work hard to create a better environment and strive to achieve "#EachforEqual".
On March 25, when the South Korean Room N incident broke out, Mayor Park Won-soon denounced the Room N incident as a "crime against human morality" on Facebook, saying that all perpetrators should be identified and severely punished. Crimes of sexual violence against young children and adolescents must not be forgiven. He also pointed out that the incident was not accidental, "creating a new system, culture, three views, etc., I am willing to start from seoul city to change."
From the information on Park Won-soon's Facebook page, it can be seen that he is a very opposed person who is very opposed to sexual violence, human rights violations, and abuse of power. He has made it clear that he supports gender equality and rejects sexual and violent violence, and works together to build a better city of Seoul. However, he was accused of sexual harassment, and the whistleblower emphasized "repeated sexual harassment for a long time" and "the victim may be more than one person", which is completely contrary to the person created by Park Won-soon. As the mayor of Seoul and the leader of the Common Democracy Party, Park Won-soon is bound to deal a serious blow to political parties if the allegations of sexual harassment are implemented, and even have a huge impact on President Moon Jae-in.
In fact, in the past, in addition to Park Won-soon, there were two famous people in the Common Democratic Party who were suspected of sexual assault and stepped down.
Liberal left politicians have exposed sex scandals continuously
In April, Busan Mayor Oh Ju-dun was accused of "unnecessary physical contact" by a female civil servant in the mayor's office, after which Oh Joo-dun resigned on his own, and the mayorship of Busan City has been temporarily replaced by the deputy mayor until now, and is expected to be re-elected next year.
"As a public official, I will reflect and repent of my mistakes responsibly for the rest of my life." Wu Judun said at a press conference in April.
However, the Wu Judun incident is still under investigation. The author believes that Wu Judun is likely to lie dormant for a period of time, wait for the wind to return to the political arena again and again, take the opportunity to look for an opportunity to make meritorious contributions to the crime, and wash away his past crimes. However, Mayor Park Won-soon committed suicide after being accused of sexual harassment, which is likely to expose Oh Ju-dun to an even greater crisis.
According to article 69 of the Rules for the Matters of Procuratorial Cases, if a suspect dies, the right of prosecution is revoked, and the prosecutor can only refuse to prosecute the case on the grounds that he has "no right of prosecution". Although the deceased is large, if the alleged sexual harassment is true, it does not mean that suicide can make up for the trauma caused to the victimized woman. Therefore, it is very likely that the Common Democratic Party will abandon Wu Judun and use it to quell angry grievances.
In 2018, Ahn Hee, the governor of Chungcheongnam Province, who was seen as Moon's successor, used his position to sexually assault the female secretary and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. It is worth noting that An Hee is being acquitted in the first trial, and the logic behind it is likely that the Moon Jae-in government wants him to wear the guilt and make meritorious contributions to protectIng Chung Hee's political career. However, the South Korean people refused to accept it and expressed their dissatisfaction with the government through demonstrations and protests. In the end, An Hee is being found guilty in the second trial. If it were not for the strong dissatisfaction of civic groups, Ahn Hee-jeong would probably continue to engage in politics as a politician.
After Ahn Chung-hee, who was originally regarded as a popular candidate for the presidency, was found guilty, this year it was exposed that two co-Democratic party mayors in South Korea's major cities were suspected of sexual crimes. One wonders what has happened to the liberal left that has advocated "progressive values and gender equality" over the years. It is also inevitable that people will question Moon's leadership and appointments.
All in all, for now, with the death of Park Won-soon, there will be no further prosecution of the sexual harassment allegations against him at the legal level. But South Korean media believe that if Park Won-soon is still alive and the complaints made by the female secretary are true, then Park Won-soon, Moon Jae-in, and the Common Democratic Party may face an extremely serious crisis.
(The author is a Korean, graduated from Zhejiang University, and is now engaged in financial work)
This issue is edited by Xing Tan