GANGJIN — Gangjin County Chief Kang Jin-won has been referred to prosecutors on an allegation of indecent assault by force.
The South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency said on the 8th that it recently referred the complaint against Kang to prosecutors without detention. Police reviewed statements from the victim and witnesses along with alibi claims presented by Kang's side, according to accounts of the case.
The complainant, identified as A, filed the complaint alleging that Kang committed indecent assault at a karaoke bar in Gangjin-eup, Gangjin County, on the night of Oct. 16, 2019. The complaint stated in detail that Kang, a former county chief at the time, joined a drinking gathering attended by A and others, asked A to sit beside him and then made inappropriate physical contact.
A told an acquaintance, identified as B, about the incident immediately afterward, according to accounts of the case. B also gave a statement to police describing the situation at the time and how B came to hear about the alleged harm, according to accounts of the case.
A's side called for a thorough investigation and strict punishment, saying it hopes the same harm is not repeated, according to accounts of the case.
Kang has denied the allegation outright. He told reporters that he had visited a hospital in Seoul on that date and then stayed in Gwangju, disputing that he ever went to the karaoke bar.
Prosecutors are expected to decide whether to indict him. Legal disputes between the two sides are expected to continue through the prosecution's investigation and any trial.
Attention is also focused on whether the investigation will expand to cover possible publication of false information under the Public Official Election Act, given that Kang stated during the local election campaign that he had never been to the venue.
The dispute over the date of the alleged incident is also drawing renewed attention.
During the local elections, Kang's campaign said in response to the sexual harassment allegation that the period in question was a time when bans on gatherings were strictly enforced because of the spread of COVID-19, and that the claim he visited the venue while refraining from public activity after the election was itself false. The date specified by the victim's side, however, is Oct. 16, 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. That contradicts the explanation given by Kang's camp.
