Former top prosecutor will face questioning for sexual abuse

By Kim Se-jeong

Shin Seung-nam

Former Prosecutor General Shin Seung-nam will be summoned for questioning this week over allegations that he sexually harassed a female employee at a country club he is the chairman of.

Shin, 70, served as top prosecutor between May 2001 and January 2002 under the Kim Dae-jung administration.

A Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency officer said, “As soon as our initial investigation is completed this week, we’ll summon him for questioning.”

Police launched an investigation after the victim filed a complaint last week.

The woman, whose identity is being kept undisclosed, claimed Shin came to her dormitory room, and hugged her and kissed her on the cheeks for two hours on June 22 last year at the Fortune Hills Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

After her claims were reported by the media, Shin met several reporters and denied the allegations, asking the reporters not to reveal his name.

He argued he had visited her dormitory room to persuade her not to quit.

“We have seen many employees quit lately. I knew she was well liked by the guests. I didn’t want her to quit and wanted to encourage her so that she will stay,” Shin was quoted as saying.

However, the victim rebutted Shin saying, “He is the most powerful man in the company, while I am a powerless employee. Does it make sense that a man in his position would visit me in the middle of the night to ask me not to quit?”

The victim claims that Shin tried to seduce her by telling her, “You’re 100 times more beautiful than my wife. From now on, you are my girlfriend.”

She quit the job days after the incident.

Police said they are collecting testimony from the victim’s former colleagues.

This is the latest revelation of “powerful” men sexually preying on “helpless” women, women’s rights groups say.

The Shin case comes on the heels of a similar case involving former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae, who was accused in September of groping the breasts of a caddy at a golf club in Gangwon Province.

Also, a former head of the National Medical Center is facing a prosecution probe for allegedly assaulting a young hospital staff member.