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The Grand National Party came under siege on Tuesday over allegations that its outgoing secretary general Choi Yeon-hee sexually harassed a reporter with the leading DongA Ilbo newspaper. Women¡¯s rights groups went to the main opposition party¡¯s headquarters to demand Choi be stripped of his National Assembly seat and were met by chairwoman Park Geun-hye. Park has apologized for the incident, but the groups said they expected more from the GNP since it is chaired by a woman.
The chairwoman said she too had become a victim of sexual harassment when a caricature of her in a sexual pose was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website last July. ¡°We should all reflect on our conduct when it comes to sexual matters,¡± she told the activists and vowed to take firm measures at the party level to prevent a recurrence of such incidents. She added the party planned to launch an education program to prevent sexual harassment.
The party in a closed general meeting the same day discussed ways of limiting the damage from the Choi incident and other gaffes that have bedeviled it in the run-up to the May 31 local elections. Some party members reportedly agree that Choi should lose his parliamentary seat, but Park told the activists the party was powerless to strip Choi of his seat. GNP floor leader Lee Jae-oh told reporters after the meeting the party apologized to the public saying the party was taking the time to reflect on a series of inappropriate remarks and behavior by its members.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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