Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young is interviewing with the Hankyoreh at the National Assembly Assembly Hall on the afternoon of the 18th. Senior Reporter Kim Kyung-ho [email protected]
“I applaud Rep. Hye-young Jang’s courage to stand up against violence. His proud appearance will be a great comfort and support for me and other Korean women.” Shin Ji-ye, the CEO of the Korean Women’s Political Network, posted this on his SNS on the 25th. Shin’s words, “I hope that Rep. Hye-young Jang will be able to fully recover their daily lives,” conveys support and support for fellow politicians and warm solidarity as a victim of female violence. CEO Shin said, “Every woman in Korea will agree with the words of Rep. Jang that’they have suffered countless sexual violence from the time they were boys to the present day’. What is different from the past is that the surviving women are no longer standing still. We will fight and win to make a better society.”
Female politicians to the future
The reason Shin’s support to Congressman Jang is meaningful is that he shows himself that the identity of a professional politician and the identity of a victim of female violence can coexist. 22 days ago, just a few days ago A Green Party official was sentenced to three years and six months in prison under the Busan District Law for quasi-rape punishment and was detained in court. Shin, the victim of this incident, did not follow the’victimity’ formula created by society. In the 21st general election in 2020, he ran for Seodaemun Gugap in Seoul as an independent, revealing that he was a victim of sexual violence, and continued his activities as a politician as it was before. On the 25th, the Korean Women’s Political Network, which he belongs to, commented, “I support the uninterrupted legislative activities of Congressman Jang Hye-yeong. They cry, are weak, or seem unable to lead their daily lives. It is the’victimity’ that Korean society thinks of victims of sexual violence. Recently, the two female politicians have shown different aspects. On the 25th, Rep. Hye-young Jang revealed that he was a victim and publicly held responsibility for the sexual harassment of Justice Party leader Kim Jong-cheol. Rep. Chang said, “I am the victim of this incident. It is my political calling to stand firmly against sexual violence and shout out gender equality. The most important thing is that’victimity’ never exists.”
A statement from Rep. Hye-young Jang. Twitter screen capture
Fellow female politicians refused to be’victims’ and sent their support for Jang’s move in continuing the routine of’politics’. Progressive Party co-president Song Myung-sook made a comment on the day, saying, “I support Rep. Hye-young Jang’s courageous declaration against the incident of sexual violence and the struggle for recovery to return to everyday life.” Shin Ji-hye, the executive representative of the Basic Income Party, also said, “I send my respect and solidarity to the Justice Party Rep. Jang Hye-young, who has decided to reveal all these things and is working harder than anyone to solve the case.” Lee Ji-won, co-CEO of the Women’s Party, said, “I deeply support Rep. Jang Hye-young’s courageous decision. I hope that the efforts of women who have struggled to achieve gender equality in the Justice Party will no longer be in vain.”
Responsible attitude is a clue to solving
“I committed an obvious harassment. I sincerely apologize to the victim again. Regarding my responsibilities, I decided to punish me in three ways, and communicated my intentions to the victim and the victim’s representative.” (Jong-cheol Kim, former president of Justice Party) In this case of sexual assault, the party representative of the Justice Party admits that she has committed sexual harassment. It is distinguished from the case of sexual violence caused by the power of past local government heads in that he immediately apologized to the victims, and took responsibility for the case and withdrew from the party’s office. Former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jeong continued a long court battle, denying the fact of his abuse. The Supreme Court convicted Governor Ahn’s’power-type sex crime’. Park Won-soon, the former mayor of Seoul City, when suspicion of sexual harassment arose, gave his intention to admit it to the staff and took his own life. Hereby The victim suffered massive secondary damage.
In the political world, it is said that it is fortunate that this case was dealt with quickly. Former lawmaker Tae-seop Geum posted a post on his Facebook page about the sexual harassment case of the Justice Party leader Kim Jong-cheol and said, “If you point out the issue of sexual violence or gender discrimination in the camp, you have to get a stinging look. In that respect, I think there is a point to evaluate in the current justice party’s disclosure of the case and the follow-up procedure.” “Even now, a pro-female civic group is predicting a murder charge against a victim who sued former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon for sexual violence. It must be stopped immediately,” he said. By Kim Mi-hyang, staff reporter [email protected]