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| Former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung is taken to a prison transport vehicle after he has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in an appeals trial held at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, in February. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon |
By Kim Jae-heun
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that found former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung guilty of sexual violence, Monday.
The final ruling is likely to discourage An, once a high-profile politician who was believed to be a strong hopeful in the next presidential election, from returning to the political arena.
An was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for raping his former secretary Kim Ji-eun four times and sexually harassing her six times between July 2017 and February 2018.
The main issue in the final ruling was whether the judges would acknowledge the credibility of Kim's testimony.
In the first trial, a district court acquitted An of the charges saying that she went with the ex-governor to a wine bar a day after one of the rapes took place and made supportive comments about An when talking to her colleagues. The court said her acts and remarks after the alleged rape were "unlikely to be those of a rape victim," not recognizing her testimony as credible.
However, the appellate court said Kim's testimony was consistent and there was no motive or reason for the victim to lie or falsely accuse An.
The top court also confirmed the appeals court's decision.
"Unless there are clear reasons for Kim to make false testimony unfavorable to An, we cannot say her testimony is false," it said.
The court also said An used his authority as a superior in committing the crimes even though he did not use physical coercion.
Kim welcomed the court's ruling and expressed her gratitude to the judges.
"I want to thank the people who have supported me so far," Kim said through a text message she sent to her supporters who held a press conference in front of the Supreme Court in Seocho, Seoul, after the verdict.
"Now, I want to return to my daily life. I will also be supporting victims of sexual violence who are hiding in many parts of this country."
Kim's lawyer added that the top court's verdict is meaningful in that it gives hope to many victims who have not dared to speak out about their experiences until now.
"'Authority is not clearly seen in reality, but it can disturb and distort a victim's free will," the lawyer said. "She had to reveal all her privacy, relationship and daily life during the investigation and the trial. It is fortunate that the truth was found through this, but I hope society won't make victims deal with such an ordeal ever again."
The ex-governor's case became well-known in the public when Kim came out in a live TV interview to reveal the sexual violence in March 2018.
