Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, left, and his wife Kang Nan-hee / Korea Times file

By Nam Hyun-woo

A Seoul court has upheld a National Human Rights Commission of Korea's (NHRCK) finding that former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon did make sexually harassing remarks to his secretary.

The Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday dismissed a complaint filed by the late mayor's wife, surnamed Kang, who demanded the rights commission to annul its finding that Park sexually harassed the secretary.

"While serving as Park's secretary, the victim would have found it difficult to express discomfort or to reject the mayor's advances as he exerted a great deal of influence due to his position. So she (the victim) tried to diffuse the situation while trying not to hurt his feelings, but her efforts went in vain as the mayor continued to sexually harass her on several occasions putting her in a very uncomfortable position," the court said.

It further stated, "The NHRCK's decision to acknowledge the sexual harassment and recommend preventive measures does not constitute exploitation of its discretion."

The late Park, who served as Seoul mayor from 2011 to 2020, was sued by the secretary who claimed that Park sent inappropriate mobile messages, photos and emojis to the secretary on July 8, 2020.

After answering police questions, he was found dead on July 10, 2020, and the case was closed without indictment.

On Jan. 25, 2021, the NHRCK partially admitted the victim's claims and concluded its own investigation with an opinion that Park's behaviors constitute sexual harassment. Also, the commission decided to recommend that the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to come up with preventive measures.

However, Park's wife filed her complaints with the administrative court in April last year, claiming that the NHRCK has unilaterally accepted the victim's claims and labeled her husband as a criminal.

Kang has been claiming that the victim has expressed her affection to Park, such as sending messages saying "I love you" and "See you in our dreams," but the court found that "these messages appear to be an expression of respect," not a romantic expression.