In just two days, more than 500,000 people signed a Cheongwadae (Cheong Wa Dae) petition opposing “an official 5-day funeral for the mayor of Seoul” for the late Park Won-soon. The petition drew the support of hundreds of thousands of people in a short time, showing that it was more than an evaluation of the individual Park. It reflected the public’s disappointment and anger at the ruling party and their lax response to power-related sex abuse.

On July 10, the day of Park’s death, a petition was posted under the title, “We Oppose Holding Park Won-soon’s Funeral as a 5-day Official Funeral for the Mayor of Seoul” on the Cheongwadae national petition website. The person who posted the petition asked, “Must the people watch the media coverage of a grand 5-day funeral of a powerful politician, driven to suicide with sexual harassment allegations? What kind of message do you want to send?” By July 12, just two days later, more than 540,000 people had signed the petition.

Given that Mayor Park’s funeral is already in progress, it is unlikely for the demand to be fulfilled. Park Hong-keun, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who also serves as the chair of the joint executive committee for the funeral, explained the reason for holding the 5-day funeral as planned and said, “We extended the funeral after considering when the body would be laid in the coffin, since it would take several days for family (Park’s son) residing overseas to return.” The final funeral service scheduled for July 13 will be conducted online to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

However, the citizens’ rage showed no sign of letting up. Apart from the regrettable death of the former mayor, the people criticized how the funeral process was carried out in a way that silenced the voice of the sex abuse victim in the name of “respecting the deceased.”

Kim Dong-i (28), currently seeking employment said she signed the petition on July 11. Kim said, “Mayor Park did not die while conducting official duties. He took his own life after a report on allegations of sexual assault based on his position was registered. I am angry at the fact that the funeral is being held as a 5-day event.” Yi Yu-mi (41) also said, “Park’s supporters talk about being innocent until proven guilty, but currently, they are already excluding the victim, even before a verdict has come out on the sexual assault allegation.”

People also raised their voices in criticizing the response by the Democratic Party, which has refused to respond to the sexual harassment allegation, opting to put forward the sadness of the death. When a reporter asked about the sexual harassment allegation against Park, Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan swore and said, “You have no respect for the deceased.” Heo Yun-jeong, spokesperson for the Democratic Party said, “We are also hearing a completely different story (from the victim’s argument)” with the truth of the allegation yet to be determined, igniting a heated debate over what could be seen as secondary victimization.

Kim Hui-yeon (33, alias), who claimed she supported Mayor Park’s policies up until his death said, “After watching so many politicians attend the funeral of former Chungcheongnam-do governor, Ahn Hee-jung’s mother recently, I got the feeling that the ruling party thought of sexual assault allegations against the head of a local government lightly, like an ‘individual sex scandal.’” She added, “Since this isn’t the first time that the head of a local government from the Democratic Party has been involved in sexual assault in connection to his position, I think the party should announce its stance on this issue.”

Many voiced their “betrayal” at the ruling party and Mayor Park, who had stressed sensitive sexual awareness in sexual assault cases before. Kim Seung-hyeon (28), an office worker said, “At election time, the Democratic Party mentioned feminism and appealed for support, but now they are turning a blind eye to the anger on the sexual assault allegation. I supported the petition because I was angry at the double-faced attitude of the people who claim to be progressive.”

On social media, a hashtag campaign in solidarity with the victim who reported Mayor Park is spreading. Some people online handed out the book, I Am Kim Ji-eun--a book that reported the sexual assault of former governor Ahn--and encouraged people to join in the hashtag relay.

People also posted pictures of themselves filing a complaint urging the city of Seoul to investigate the truth of the matter. After the death of Park, the police investigation closed with the conclusion, “no authority of prosecution,” but the people argue that the city of Seoul should prevent secondary victimization of the victim by uncovering the truth. One citizen mentioned online that the city of Seoul had previously released an employee at the office of the secretary from his position when a sexual assault allegation was raised against him claiming that the city would respond with a “zero tolerance” policy on irregularities involving sex.

An official from the human rights protection team at the metropolitan government said in a phone conversation with the Kyunghyang Shinmun, “The Seoul Ordinance on Basic Human Rights includes a provision that stipulates that the city is to dismiss cases received by the relief committee when an investigation by the police or prosecutors is ongoing or has been concluded. There are practical restrictions to an independent investigation.” At the same time, the official added, “We will look for a way to protect the victim as best we can.”