Park Wan-joo, who was sentenced to one year in prison for sexual harassment by his aide, was arrested in court... "Concerned about running away."

Court Sentences Former Rep. Park Wan-joo to 'One Year in Prison'
Former lawmaker Park "immediate appeal"…Court 'restraint in court'
The victim said, "The sentence is unfortunate, but I welcome the conviction."

[Anchor]
Former lawmaker Park Wan-joo, who is accused of forcibly molesting his aide, was sentenced to one year in prison in the first trial.

The court arrested former lawmaker Park, who completely denies the allegations, in court, saying he is feared to flee.

Reporter Yoon Ji-A reports.

[Reporter]
In December 2021, a first trial court sentenced former lawmaker Park Wan-joo, who was accused of sexually harassing his aide, who was a member of his office at the time, and demanding sexual intercourse several times, to one year in prison.

The court admitted the indictment, saying it is consistently and specifically making statements that the victim was forcibly molested by former lawmaker Park.

In addition, former lawmaker Park scolded those around him for their bad nature, saying he also damaged his reputation by telling people around him that the victim asked for money.

However, he was acquitted of charges of causing post-traumatic stress disorder through forced harassment or of attempting to be dismissed after reporting sexual harassment.

Former lawmaker Park said he would appeal immediately after the sentence, saying he could not admit the ruling, but the court arrested former lawmaker Park in court, saying he could run away.

The victim welcomed the court's judgment that convicted former lawmaker Park, who has denied the charges altogether, but expressed regret over the sentence.

[Yoon Yerim / Victim's lawyer: There are some regrets in the judgment of the court, but overall, I am grateful for the victim's situation and for reviewing the legal principles of the case and making the judgment.]

Earlier, the prosecution demanded a five-year prison term, saying Park committed a crime against an aide in a vulnerable position as a special official, but even caused secondary damage due to defamation, such as that the victim demanded money.

The prosecution will review the ruling and consider whether to appeal.

I'm YTN Yoon Jia.


Photographer: On Seung-won
Design: Im Sae-byul