Another liberal South Korean politician embroiled in #MeToo movement

South Korean politician Min Byung-doo offered to resign on Saturday, after an acquaintance accused him of sexual harassment. Photo by Yonhap.

SEOUL, March 11 (UPI) — A liberal politician has been accused of sexual harassment, causing President Moon Jae-in’s party another bout of embarrassment.

On Saturday, a female acquaintance of ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byung-doo told local media that the politician invited her to a karaoke bar in 2008 and blocked the entrance before kissing her.

Min has claimed he does not remember any “problematic behavior” of harassing the alleged victim but offered to resign from his party on Saturday, saying he’d always believed he should step down if he was hit with even a minor mistake he was unaware of.

He said there may have been physical contact but “not to the degree seen in #MeToo movement cases these days,” News Tapa reported.

“I support the #MeToo campaign,” he said in a text message to local reporters, later adding he was resigning to keep his honor and set the facts straight.

However, Democratic Party Floor Leader Woo Won-shik on Sunday revealed that he had requested Min to retract his resignation, saying the facts should be set straight first.

The party’s top committee is expected to discuss the scandal-hit lawmaker’s resignation on Monday.

Observers say the accusation against Min may cause the party another blow before the upcoming local government elections.

Min, currently serving his third parliamentary term, had declared his bid to run for Seoul mayor in the June elections.

The liberal party has already faced controversy, after political heavyweight Ahn Hee-jeong resigned this week upon allegations that he raped his secretary multiple times over the course of the last eight months.

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