The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s plan to investigate sexual harassment allegations against late Mayor Park Won-soon has faced a setback, as the city failed to recruit outside experts to join the investigation team.

On Sunday, the city government said it sent out an official document for a third time Saturday to two women’s groups to recommend experts to join other experts in human rights and law for the investigation.

The two organizations -- the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center and the Korea Women’s Hotline -- turned down the proposal to cooperate in setting up the team last week and have not responded to the city’s two previous offers. The groups represent the victim who filed a criminal complaint with police two days before Park was found dead in Seoul on July 10.

The victim, a former secretary and current city government official who worked with Park, alleged on July 13 that the mayor had made unwanted physical contact and sent inappropriate text messages over four years, starting in 2017.

“We haven’t received replies from the groups yet. We will wait until 6 p.m. Wednesday as we stated in the official document and determine a follow-up action,” Kim Ki-hyun, an official at the women’s policy division for the city, told the Korea Herald.

The women’s groups have put more faith in the ongoing police investigation, saying that the municipal government lacks credibility in having created a working environment tolerant to sexual harassment and practically neglecting the case, based on testimony they heard from the victim.

“With the measures put forward by the city government, it appears they cannot clarify the case, nor has (the city government) the willingness to get to the bottom of it,” they said in a statement on Thursday.

The city government initially announced that it would set up a civilian-government joint investigation team, but decided to exclude city officials later in the face of skepticism over objectivity. The team will comprise nine external experts: three each from the areas of expertise of women’s issues, human rights and law.

If formed, the joint investigative team may advise the city government to take punitive measures against those involved with the case who committed illegal or wrongful acts and map out measures for the city government to improve organizational culture and make efforts to prevent the recurrence of similar cases.

Whether the city government was aware of Park’s misconduct before the victim filed the complaint with police and whether officials there secretly allowed the wrongdoings to happen and leaked personal information of the victim will be investigated by the team.

Meanwhile, investigations driven by police are picking up speed.

On Monday, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is set to hold a first meeting of an investigative task force team headed by its deputy commissioner. It decided to assign the case to a larger-scale team than it initially envisioned for a swift probe.

With complaints filed by civic groups and the victim, police have broken down the cases involving the former mayor into three parts: an inquest into Park’s death, an investigation into allegations that Seoul government officials abetted and covered up sexual harassment as well as damages inflicted on the victim by those who blamed her for the death and leaked personal information.

Kim Chang-ryong, recently named chief of the National Police Agency, vowed stern punitive measures against those who produce and distribute false information regarding the case in response to written questions from lawmakers for his confirmation hearing slated for Monday.

“We will strictly respond to organized and malicious false statements through rigorous investigation, including tracking and arresting not only the first producer but also the distributors,” Kim said.

Kim, however, said the probe into the sexual harassment allegations cannot push ahead as there is no individual to prosecute due to the death of the alleged perpetrator.

The Seoul Seongbuk Police Station, which has continued its inquest into Park’s death, plans to summon Lim Soon-young, special adviser for gender equality to the mayor, who asked Park if he was involved in a “scandalous event” before the former secretary officially filed the complaint.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)