Former Governor Ahn Hee-jung of South Chungcheong Province's Sexual Assault Victim Receives Compensation Ruling

Ahn Hee-jung, the former governor of South Chungcheong Province who concluded his prison term after being convicted of sexual assault against his secretary, has had a ruling confirmed that he must compensate the victim, Kim Ji-eun.

According to legal sources on the 5th, neither former Governor Ahn nor representatives from South Chungcheong Province or Kim's side appealed the ruling from the appellate court received on the 21st of last month, which was made by the Seoul High Court Civil Division 3-3 (Chief Judge Bae Yong-jun, Kim Jong-cheol, Choi Hyun-jong).

Under civil procedure law, if an appeal is not filed within two weeks of the delivery of the ruling, the ruling becomes final. In this case, both sides waived their right to appeal, thereby affirming the second instance ruling as it was.

With this, former Governor Ahn has a legal obligation to pay Kim Ji-eun a total of 83,045,984 won.

The second-instance court had ruled on the 12th of last month during the appeal for Kim's claim of compensation amounting to 300 million won, stating, "Former Governor Ahn must pay Kim Ji-eun 83,045,984 won."

In the first instance, it was ruled that Ahn should compensate Kim a total of over 83.4 million won, of which over 53 million won should be jointly compensated by South Chungcheong Province. However, in the second instance, some compensation items, including previous medical expenses, were slightly reduced, adjusting the compensation amount.

At that time, Kim's representatives expressed that they believed the compensation amount was insufficient considering aspects of secondary harm, stating they would deliberate on whether to appeal, but ultimately did not file an appeal.

Former Governor Ahn Hee-jung, restricted from political activities after completing his prison term

Ahn was indicted for using his authority to sexually assault and commit forced molestation against Kim Ji-eun, who was his secretary, from July 2017 to February the following year.

In September 2019, he received a confirmed sentence of 3 years and 6 months in prison from the Supreme Court and was released after completing his sentence on August 4, 2022.

Currently, Ahn is deprived of his eligibility for public office for 10 years based on the Public Official Election Act.

Image source: Photo=Insight