Women’s Groups Demand Announcement of Investigation Results on Former Lawmaker Jang Je-won’s Sexual Assault Case
Women’s organizations have strongly urged the police to announce the investigation results regarding former lawmaker Jang Je-won, who was found dead while being investigated for sexual assault allegations involving his secretary.
Earlier, on the 7th, the police announced their intention to conclude the investigation into Jang's case as "not prosecutable" due to his death.
In response, women’s groups stated that the reality of the case must not be buried simply because the suspect has died.
On the morning of the 9th, the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center and the Korean Women’s Hotline held a press conference in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno District, Seoul, to convey the position of A, the former secretary who filed a complaint against Jang.
A did not attend the press conference in person, and Choi Ran, the vice director of the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center, read A's statement.
In the statement, A asserted, “I absolutely do not want the case to be closed like this,” and “There must be a publication of the results of the investigation regarding the sexual assault allegations based on the investigation that has been conducted thus far.”
"I absolutely do not want the case to be closed like this."
Additionally, A expressed, “I have not received any kind of apology from the perpetrator,” and “It is devastating to be in a situation where I can only watch everything start and end entirely at the hands of the perpetrator from the moment the incident occurred until it concludes.”
Over 11,000 Signatures Submitted to the Police
Lawyer Kim Jae-ryeon, representing A, claimed that the police investigation had made significant progress.
According to Kim, the National Forensic Service had completed examinations on the evidence submitted by A, and expert opinions regarding the credibility of the victim's testimony had been obtained. Only the investigation regarding whether the male DNA collected from specific body parts and underwear of A matched that of former lawmaker Jang remained.
Kim stated, “While the suspect’s death may pose an obstacle to prosecution, I hope it sets a new precedent that should not obstruct the assessment of whether a crime occurred.”
He then referenced the sexual assault cases of former Chungcheongnam-do Governor An Hee-jung and the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, emphasizing, “Politicians who have exploited power-based sexual assault cases according to political ideologies need to reflect and fix the mistakes they’ve made.”
After the press conference, women’s organizations submitted over 11,000 petitions collected from individuals and groups within 36 hours, which commenced on the 7th, to the Seoul police’s civil complaints office.
Meanwhile, former lawmaker Jang Je-won was accused of sexually assaulting his secretary A in November 2015 while serving as the vice president of a university in Busan, and was found dead on the 31st of last month while under police investigation.
※ If you are experiencing difficulties such as depression or if you know someone who is going through such challenges, you can receive expert counseling 24 hours a day by contacting the suicide prevention hotline at ☎109 or through SNS counseling via Madlan (www.129.go.kr/109/etc/madlan).
※ If you are experiencing difficulties such as depression or if you know someone who is going through such challenges, you can receive expert counseling 24 hours a day by contacting the suicide prevention hotline at ☎109 or through SNS counseling via Madlan (www.129.go.kr/109/etc/madlan).
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Image source: News1, photo=Insight, attorney Kim Jae-ryeon / News1
