Former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae has been summoned to appear at the police for questioning regarding a sexual assault complaint against him filed by a caddie.
The 76-year-old Saenuri Party standing adviser is alleged to have sexually assaulted a female caddie during a round of golf on Sept. 11. At the ninth hole, the caddie radioed her supervisor complaining of physical contact and requested an immediate change of caddie.
In attempting to deny the allegation, Park, in fact, admitted to sexual assault. He told the media that he poked the woman’s breast with his finger, telling her she was pretty and to be careful about men. He added that he thought touching the caddies’ back and arm were “not a big problem.”
By his own admission, Park has clearly sexually assaulted the caddie. Can the six-term legislator claim that he does not know the sexual harassment law which clearly states that any act or language that causes discomfort to the victim constitutes sexual harassment?
Park offered a ludicrous explanation for his behavior. He claimed that being a father to two daughters, he is in the habit of telling them how pretty and cute they were. Viewing the caddie like his granddaughter, he told her she was cute, he said.
If Park’s “explanation” for his inexcusable behavior sounds familiar, it is because we have heard a similar explanation before. When then Blue House spokesperson Yoon Chang-jung was accused of sexually assaulting an intern in a Washington, D.C. hotel room last May while accompanying President Park Geun-hye on visit to the U.S., he said he had touched her in the back as a sign of “encouragement.” The intern, however, saw things differently. In a police report, she said a man “grabbed her buttocks without her permission.” Yoon was fired promptly.
Unfortunately, allegations of sexual assault by politicians are nothing new. In August 2013, Saenuri legislator Kim Moo-sung, the current party chairman, was alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman reporter. In his defense, Kim claimed he was too drunk to remember. In retrospect, Kim’s behavior perhaps should not have been too shocking. When then Grand National Party lawmaker Kang Yong-seok faced losing his seat in 2010 after being accused of sexual harassment, Kim, the then party floor leader, defended the troubled lawmaker, saying that Kang should be allowed to keep his seat since he was repentant.
In yet another case, former Grand National Party legislator Choi Yeon-hee stepped down from his post as party secretary-general in 2006 after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman reporter. His explanation was that he had, in his drunken state, mistaken the reporter for the restaurant owner.
In defending themselves against sexual assault allegations, the perpetrators resort to pleading “too drunk to remember” or “no harm intended.” However, sexual harassment laws in Korea are not on their side.
It is a disgrace that politicians make headlines with news of sexual assault. Even more troubling is the fact that these behaviors constitute abuse of power, stemming from deeply-rooted sexual objectification of women and a blatant disregard for women’s human rights.
It is high time that political parties make a class on sexual harassment prevention mandatory for all members. to attend.
And politicians should remember, at all times, whether drunk or sober, to not make sexual remarks and to not touch. It is as simple as that.
