The New York Times columnist wrote that an elaborate public funeral was held monday in Seoul, South Korea, in honor of the city's mayor, Park Won-soon, a prominent human rights lawyer and a close confidant of President Moon Jae-in. Mr. Park was found to have committed suicide last week after a personal assistant in his office filed allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against him.
In his suicide note, Mr. Park made no mention of the allegations, but wrote: "I apologize to everyone. ”
Park Won-soon funeral
The news, in its painful complexity, shocked the South Korean people, one in five of whom were Seoul residents. Named twice in seoul's mayorship, Park Won-soon has been called a friend of the poor and homeless by voters; as an activist and lawyer, he has successfully litigated the nation's first sexual harassment case and won praise from women's rights groups. More recently, he won praise for allowing more than 1 million people to participate in the 2016 candlelight campaign in downtown Seoul, which led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and the election of Moon Jae-in.
However, Mr. Park Won-soon, the second-largest magnate in South Korea, was also accused of sexual harassment and assault before his death. While receiving mourning after his death, his accusers remain anonymous and her allegations will not be investigated. Under South Korean law, the case will be closed without prosecution because the suspect is already dead. The city and central government ignored the signatures of more than 570,000 South Koreans opposing the official funeral.
Online, Mr. Park and supporters of his party accused the personal assistant of lying and conspiring with opposition parties, while conservatives used the allegations to attack Moon's government. Someone spread false information online and tried to flesh out the identity of the woman. Although her name has not yet been revealed.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, the woman's lawyer and representatives of two feminist groups detailed her allegations and demanded a "full investigation." According to the employee, over the past 5 years, Mr. Park has exposed her to unwanted intimate contact, sending her photos of herself wearing underwear and sending her carnal text messages on multiple occasions. She claimed she did not receive any help when she complained to officials in the mayor's office.
In a prepared statement read out by the delegates, the woman explained that the events of the past week had brought her great sadness. "I don't know how I'm going to go on. But I know, I'm a person. A living person. ”
For many South Korean women, the allegations are the latest in a series of crimes against South Korean women.
In 2016, before the "Me Too" movement in the United States began, the murder of a young woman in The Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul City, as well as the proliferation of concealed camera pornography, sparked a wave of feminism in South Korea. Survivors of sexual assault and harassment spoke out against abusers, and women of all ages protested on the streets — even though there was no outbreak of COVID-19 at the time — and they also needed to wear masks to cover their faces for fear of reprisals.
In response to requests from South Korean feminists, Moon promised change when he took office in 2017. Many of the South Korean feminists are leaders of the candlelight movement. He appointed several women to the Cabinet and vowed to combat discrimination against women through legal and policy reforms.
Moon Jae-in
But this gender injustice continues in South Korea. The mayor of Busan, South Korea's second-largest city after Seoul, was forced to resign in May on sexual assault charges, but he has yet to face criminal charges. In late June, a top South Korean triathlete committed suicide after documenting what she described as years of abuse by male coaches. On July 6, a South Korean court rejected a U.S. request to extradite a man. The man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for running an international child pornography site.
So it's no surprise that so many Korean women feel neglected and insecure. Even under Moon's liberal government, the justice system does not seem to provide them with much protection.
To regain the trust of the South Korean people, the Moon Jae-in government and the Seoul metropolitan government must apologize to Park Won-soon's former employees and investigate all allegations of harassment and assault against him. In addition to this case, South Korea must establish and strengthen credible mechanisms to guarantee women's rights at work and on the streets – protecting those who claim sexual harassment from retaliation through trade unions, feminist groups, independent oversight bodies, and more robust sexual offence legislation and regulations.
This basic public security should be a human rights issue, not a party politics issue. At a news conference on Monday, the heroine of the case echoed this humble request in her statement: "I dream of a world that respects all people. ”
#朴元淳之死表明韩国的性别不公没有得到解决 #
Translator: Wu XVI
Editor-in-charge: Wu Sixteen