Kim Bo-hyeop, former senior Spokesperson, who was identified as one of the alleged perpetrators in the Rebuilding Korea Party sexual misconduct case, said on the 14th that "there was no sexual molestation or sexual harassment as the complainant claims."
Kim made the remarks in a Facebook post that said, "There is a phrase called the presumption of innocence," on this day. This is the first time Kim has publicly stated a position since the sexual misconduct allegations were raised.
Kim said, "A complaint or a news conference is nothing more than a one-sided claim that has not been verified as fact," adding, "Victim-centeredness does not mean that the victim's claims must be unconditionally accepted as fact."
Kim said, "On the 4th, I watched someone's news conference claiming to have suffered long-term sexual molestation and sexual harassment because of me, and I found it puzzling."
He went on, "It was mainly aimed at the party the person had belonged to and major politicians," adding, "They did not even explicitly state that they were a victim of sexual molestation."
Former Spokesperson Kang Mi-jung's side claims that Kim committed molestation at a karaoke room late last year while with other party staffers. They also claim there was sexual molestation in a taxi in July last year.
Kim said, "The day that person filed a complaint accusing me of sexual molestation was Apr. 28. Until Chosunilbo reported it on Apr. 30, I had no idea what conduct or words I was being accused of," adding, "The party where I worked as a senior Spokesperson removed me from duties without a single inquiry."
He continued, "The complainant raised allegations of sexual molestation, and the party accepted 100% of an external institution's findings and expelled me," adding, "I judge that external institution's report to be a 'see-only-what-you-want-to-see, believe-only-what-you-want-to-believe report' that accepted only the so-called 'victim's' statements as specific and consistent."
Kim also said, "Even though it amounted to siding with the complainant, the complainant's side attacked the party at the news conference with claims contrary to fact, saying the matter was not handled at the speed and in the manner they wanted," adding, "According to the party's official statement on the news conference, in the case of the workplace bullying incident, the complainant's claims were largely not accepted in the party's internal inquiry, the external institution's inquiry, or the Labor Office inquiry."
He also addressed the karaoke gathering in Dec. last year, mentioned as the time of the alleged molestation. Kim said, "It was past 11 p.m., so most people wanted to go home, but the complainant took the lead in guiding the group to the karaoke room in front of the restaurant," adding, "There was no molestation as claimed by the complainant. There were seven people, and among them, aside from the complainant, there was only one party staffer who gave a statement supporting that claim."
Kim added, "The day after the dinner, I asked every attendee 'whether they got home safely and whether there had been any unpleasant conduct or remarks by anyone, including me,'" and said, "I exchanged a similar text conversation with the complainant, who rarely came to the office in the morning, and it was the same."
In addition, Kim said, "They claim I committed sexual molestation one night in a taxi in July last year. That, too, is a false claim," adding, "In the police investigation, I provided all the Kakao Taxi and driver information used at the time and asked them to investigate."