Former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Wan-joo, who was indicted on charges including sexual assault against an aide, applied for bail, but the court did not accept it on the 21st. Earlier, Park was sentenced to prison in the first trial and was taken into custody.
The 12-1 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Director General Judges Hong Ji-young, Bang Ung-hwan, Kim Min-a) stated that it dismissed Park's bail request on that day due to charges of forced molestation and defamation. The court cited concerns about potential destruction of evidence and flight as the reasons for the dismissal.
Park requested bail from the court on the 26th of last month during the second trial concerning the case. At the bail hearing on the 17th, Park said, "I have no intention of fleeing and no reason to flee." In contrast, the prosecution stated, "There are no grounds for bail, so please deny it."
Earlier, Park was indicted for forcibly molesting A, who was his aide in 2021, causing injuries including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the prosecution, when A reported Park to the Democratic Party in April 2023, Park retaliated against A with professional disadvantages (abuse of power) and disclosed the sexual assault case involving A to local officials (defamation).
The first trial sentenced Park to one year in prison in December of last year, taking him into custody. The first trial court acknowledged Park's charges of forced molestation and defamation as guilty but found the charges of causing injury through forced molestation leading to PTSD and abuse of power not guilty. Both Park and the prosecution appealed the first trial's ruling.