Second woman files sexual assault complaint against An Hee-jung

About 10 days after an allegation of multiple rapes was made public against former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung, a second alleged victim filed a legal complaint against him for sexual assault on Wednesday.

The woman says she was sexually assaulted by An seven times over the course of more than a year, from October 2015 until January last year. Of the seven assaults, the victim alleges she was raped on three occasions.

The woman worked for a think tank founded by An. In the most recent instance, the woman said An raped her in a hotel room in Yeouido, Seoul, last year. She also said she was raped by the ex-governor in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, at a religious facility in 2016.

Her complaint was submitted to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday afternoon.

Once a rising star in Korean politics and a presidential hopeful, An resigned from his governor post after his former secretary, Kim Ji-eun, made her sexual assault claims public.

Kim’s allegation came amid the dramatic spread of the #MeToo movement in Korea, ignited by Prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun in January when she disclosed her sexual harassment experiences on a TV news program.

Since An’s fall from grace, other allegations of sexual misconduct and extramarital affairs have been made against other powerful politicians.

On Wednesday, Park Soo-hyun,  a former spokesman for President Moon Jae-in and a leading candidate in the race for South Chungcheong Province governor in the June local elections, dropped out of the race amid allegations of an extramarital affair and an accusation that he helped the woman be nominated in a local councilor election in 2014.

Chung Bong-ju, a former left-leaning lawmaker currently running for Seoul mayor, sued six reporters Tuesday for spreading what he called “false rumors” that he had attempted to kiss a college student in 2011.

He announced that he is still running for Seoul mayor despite the ongoing controversy caused by the “false rumors.”

On March 7, a local media outlet published an exclusive interview with a woman who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Chung.

The victim, a journalist, alleged that Chung attempted to hug and kiss her, without her consent, at Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on Dec. 22, 2011. She was a college student at the time.

Chung has been denying the allegations, claiming that he did not visit the hotel that day.



By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)