A woman in her 30s, identified as A, a former colleague of Dr. Jeong Hee-won (head of the Slow Aging Research Institute), who built recognition by promoting the concept of "slow aging," has filed a complaint accusing Jeong of forcible molestation and other charges. A filed a countersuit after Jeong accused A of stalking.
According to A's side on the 21st, A filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 19th accusing Jeong of forcible molestation by abuse of authority, false accusation, defamation, and violations of the Stalking Punishment Act, among other charges.
A's side is said to have submitted as evidence social media (SNS) messages and phone recordings purportedly showing Jeong making sexual demands. A also says ongoing contacts from Jeong as the case has become widely known are causing distress.
Earlier, Jeong filed a police complaint accusing A—who had worked at the institute as an affiliated research fellow—of attempted extortion and housebreaking, saying A had been stalking Jeong since July.
A's side argues the case is "gender-based violence that occurred within a power relationship." They contend Jeong repeatedly made sexual demands by using position and that A felt compelled to comply out of fear of being fired.
Regarding this, Jeong said in a post uploaded to YouTube on the 19th, "The other party's claims are clearly fictitious, and in particular the claim that the relationship was formed by abuse of authority is by no means true."