In spite of a petition, signed by half a million people, the funeral of the mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon, who committed suicide after having been accused of sexual harassment, were held Monday, July 13. Park Won-soon, a former advocate of the rights of Man, was an iconic figure of the democrat Party (centre-left) in power. He had led since 2011 the giant capital city of South Korea, which has approximately ten million inhabitants, or almost one-fifth of the population of the country.
His body was discovered Friday morning in the mountains on the outskirts of Seoul, a day after filing of a complaint by his former secretary, for acts of sexual abuse. More than 20 000 people came to pay their last respects. During this ceremony, her daughter said, " have felt the joy of [h]is father by meeting the citizens one by one ". A petition opposing this ceremony and posted on the website of the presidency has collected more than 500,000 signatures. "The population should attend for five days to the funeral of a politician that has committed suicide following accusations of sexual harassment ?" asks the petition, which asks " what kind of message this sends ".
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"I have decided not to present my homages"
Park Won-soon is by far the most senior political personality in South Korea to be involved in a sexual harassment case. In a south Korean society remained deeply patriarchal, the global movement #MeToo, which encourages women to report rape or harassment of which they are victims, has been falling in the past two years dozens of men leaders eminent, and this in all areas.
The south Korean president Moon Jae-in has made sending flowers on the occasion of this ceremony which was attended by his chief of staff and senior officials of the democratic Party. However, neither the chief executive officer by interim of the Party of the future (conservative opposition) nor that of the centrist party, were present. "I have decided not to present my homage," wrote on his page Facebook Ahn Cheol-soo, head of the centrist party, saying that " this is the time to have a deep reflection on the behaviour of senior officials of this country." A hundred people attended Monday to these funeral, their number is limited due to the coronavirus. Supporters of the mayor have cried hot tears when the family of the deceased has penetrated into the city hall bearing his portrait. The suicide of Park Won-soon has turned off all the lawsuits against it.
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