New Head of the Human Resources Innovation Office Apologizes for Past Comments on Sexual Harassment Case

On July 22, 2025, 최동석 (Choi Dong-seok), the newly appointed head of the Human Resources Innovation Office, issued an apology regarding his previous comments on the sexual harassment case involving the late 박원순 (Park Won-soon), the former mayor of Seoul. In a social media post, he expressed regret for any pain his past writings may have caused to the victims, stating, 'I will be particularly mindful of my words and actions as a high-ranking public official moving forward.'

Choi's controversial remarks date back to July 28, 2020, shortly after Park's death, when he published an article in a progressive online media outlet titled 'The Park Won-soon Incident: It is Common for Perpetrators to Become Victims.' In this piece, he defended Park, claiming he was not the type to engage in disgraceful behavior and criticized those who labeled him a sexual offender without evidence, particularly pointing out the actions of women's organizations.

Choi described the situation as appearing to be a 'planned incident' aimed at politically damaging Park, and he specifically criticized the victim's lawyer, 김재련 (Kim Jae-ryun). He also referenced a memo written by the victim, suggesting that the language used indicated respect and admiration, which he believed contradicted the allegations.

During a session of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee, Choi stated that he did not recall the specifics of his past comments but acknowledged that his staff had informed him about them, prompting his apology on social media.

In response, 국민의힘 (People Power Party) lawmaker 신동욱 (Shin Dong-wook) questioned whether Choi's appointment was appropriate given his past statements, to which Choi replied that it was not his place to comment on the matter.

Last month, Choi also made headlines by stating on his YouTube channel that former President 문재인 (Moon Jae-in) is the source of all the suffering currently faced by the Korean people, which drew criticism from 더불어민주당 (Democratic Party) lawmaker 윤건영 (Yoon Geon-young), who expressed his outrage on Facebook, calling Choi's remarks shameful and promising to monitor the situation closely.