Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Broadcasters hit for making 'defamatory' remarks against Park's accuser
By Bahk Eun-ji
Freelance announcer Park Ji-hee and radio host Lee Dong-hyeong sparked controversy over inappropriate remarks about the former secretary who made sexual harassment allegations against the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon during their show, Thursday.
The remarks, which were made mostly by Park who hosts a show on local television and a radio network TBS, were aired in a podcast Tuesday. During the show, Park said “I'm wondering what you (the alleged victim) have been doing for the last four years, and before showing up all of a sudden with lawyer Kim Jae-ryun.”
Park Ji-hee / Korea Times file
By Bahk Eun-ji
Park claimed the victim “said that she was unable to make a report due to his position as the mayor of Seoul at that time. Why did she not report it to the police in the first place?”
She also raised a question about the evidence revealed during a press conference by representatives of the victim.
“It was just a screen captured image showing the mayor was invited to the Telegram messenger app. That's not evidence to prove anything, and even though the bereaved families earnestly asked her not to hold a press conference, they just did it and I really don't understand them at all,” she said.
The image she referred to showed a screen capture of an invitation sent by Mayor Park to the alleged victim to join a private chat.
In a different live broadcast aired on YouTube on the same day, Park's co-host Lee said, “What kind of #MeToo case is this? People should reveal their identity if they can say they are part of the movement.”
He added, “Park ended his life. He made an extreme choice, but you (the victim) are hiding.”
Recognizing the possibility that his words and actions would be criticized as “secondary abuse,” he added, “If you say anything, it becomes secondary abuse, so you can't do or say anything. Why can I not say something is weird when I think it really is?”
Lee also defended Park, who has been under fire for making similar remarks with him before. “You can raise questions. Is it a problem?” he asked.
When the remarks became known to the internet community, many criticized them for secondary abuse. Viewers have been posting on the YTN and TBS webpages calling for them to drop the radio programs. TBS said Park doesn't belong to the company and YTN said it has no official statement on the issue.