Former Governor and liberal political rival of Moon Jae-in, An Hee-jung has avoided jail time for rape but his political career is probably finished:
A Seoul court has found former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung not guilty of raping his former secretary.
In one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases here, the Seoul Western District Court said Tuesday there was insufficient evidence that An used his authority to have sexual relations with the plaintiff, Kim Ji-eun, against her will.
“The suspect was an influential politician, was touted as a potential presidential candidate, and, as governor, An had the power to dismiss and hire the victim, which can be seen that he had authority,” the court said. “However, there was no evidence he used that authority to have sexual relations with Kim.”
It said both are adults with intellect and sound judgment, there were no evidence An infringed on the victim’s sexual freedom, and the only evidence was the victim’s testimony.
In April, the 52-year-old politician was indicted for allegedly forcing sexual intercourse on his former secretary four times as well as molesting her on several occasions from mid-2017 to early this year in Seoul and during overseas business trips.
The court also pointed out that there was a lack of evidence of psychological damage which she claimed to have suffered.
“The following morning after the first sexual contact in Russia, Kim searched for a Korean restaurant that An would like. And after returning to Korea, she went to a beauty parlor, which An often visited, to get her hair done,” the court said. “The victim also continuously expressed admiration toward An not only in work-related situations but also when meeting acquaintances unrelated to work, which makes it difficult to accept the victim’s testimony.” [Korea Times]
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