Seoul Philharmonic CEO claims artistic director behind accusations

Park Hyun-jung, CEO of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, who faces demands for her resignation from employees accusing her of sexual harassment and arbitrary personnel management, said Friday that artistic director Chung Myung-whun may have been behind the recent accusations against her.

She also refused to step down and vowed to cooperate with investigations into the complaints.

“I am willing to cooperate with the national auditing agency, prosecutors or anyone in investigating this case,” she said at a press conference on Friday in Seoul. 

“I was surprised when I first came here. The organization was reckless, lazy and inefficient. It couldn’t even be called an organization. It was just a group of people gathered for fun,” she said. She also claimed that Chung’s secretary came to her asking her to provide reimbursement for money Chung’s wife spent on hotel accommodation while their house was being repaired.

Park has been accused of a series of acts of misconduct, including verbal and sexual abuse, by her staff at the city-run ensemble. Seventeen of the orchestra’s 27 staff members are demanding her immediate resignation. Park denied any wrongdoings after the scandal broke on Monday.

Seventeen of her employees claimed that she treated them “inhumanely,” and 13 others have left the organization since she took the helm in February last year.

They provided an audio recording purportedly of her yelling and cursing at employees, which was broadcast on major TV channels. They claimed Park verbally harassed female employees on numerous occasions and physically assaulted a male staff member of another organization.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the staff members’ letter demanding Park’s resignation was submitted to the city government in October. Pressured by the staff, Park expressed her wish to resign, but changed her mind and chose to keep her post.

After receiving a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University, Park had a successful career with Samsung Life Insurance, a unit of Samsung Group. She was appointed the head of the country’s most beloved orchestra in 2013. Park’s term ends on Jan. 31, 2016.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)