(Yonhap)
South Korea's Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok on Friday pledged to map out effective and strengthened measures to prevent further sexual crimes in public institutions amid an ongoing controversy over sexual abuse allegations of late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.
"As the minister in charge of preventing sexual harassment and protecting victims, I feel a great sense of responsibility," Lee said in a meeting with experts in sexual violence prevention at the government complex in Seoul.
The minister added she was "very worried about the victim who has been suffering from mental pressure and psychological pain."
Last week, Park was found dead a day after a former secretary filed a complaint with the police about his alleged sexual harassment. According to civic groups and her attorney, the victim had suffered unwanted physical contact and received inappropriate messages from Park for over four years.
The gender minister assessed that not enough was being done to eradicate sexual crimes in the public sector, including in local governments. Lee said the ministry will provide support to the victim in the case involving the late Seoul mayor.
"The ministry will come up with effective measures to help the victim return to her daily life and do its best to prevent any recurrence of such sexual harassment," the minister said. "And I will also improve the system to protect victims and punish perpetrators."
After the latest meeting, the ministry announced that discussions touched on getting the gender equality ministry or National Human Rights Commission to take charge of any probes if the alleged perpetrator of sexual offenses is the elected head of a local government.
"It is necessary for responsible agencies to get involved in such instances, because at present, there is no separate relief for the victim if the perpetrator is the head of a local government, unless it becomes a criminal case," an official said.
The official added that the ministry is checking all aspects of the case to make certain that it is processed fairly. The source said this can set a precedence for other victims who are reluctant to come out and report abuse.
The ministry said that based on how the matter is dealt with, changes to the reporting system can be made, as well as creating a social environment that permits victims to report abuse more easily.
Earlier this week, the ministry emphasized it will conduct a thorough inspection of the Seoul metropolitan government to check whether the municipality has complied with sexual harassment guidelines.
Besides such actions, the ministry said it is looking into the repercussions caused by social media, the press and broadcasters in such cases and coming up with ways to get such organizations to be responsible in what they say and report.
The government also announced a plan to launch a probe into allegations of sexual abuse by the city's late mayor, led by a joint investigative team involving women's rights and civic groups. (Yonhap)