Exclusive: Sitting People Power Party council member in Gwanak-gu referred to prosecutors on groping charges

A sitting Gwanak-gu Council member facing sexual misconduct allegations has been referred to prosecutors.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's women and juvenile crime investigation unit referred People Power Party council member Lee Gyeong-gwan to the Seoul Central District Prosecution Service on Saturday without seeking detention, on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes — specifically, indecent acts committed through the abuse of workplace authority.

"We reviewed all relevant materials, including victim statements, and concluded that the charges were substantiated before referring the case to the prosecution service," a police official said.

A Gwanak-gu Council employee had filed a complaint against Lee with the Gwanak Police Station in May under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes. The Gwanak station questioned the complainant and transferred the case to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in early July, after which the agency summoned and questioned the complainant, witnesses and other key parties.

The complaint alleged that Lee repeatedly sexually harassed and groped the employee over roughly two years, from April 2024 through April this year, while serving as a ninth-term Gwanak-gu Council member. The employee said Lee repeatedly pressured them into meals and forced them to drink alcohol by dangling the prospect of contract renewals or fixed-term employment, and engaged in inappropriate physical contact and sexually offensive conduct.

The inappropriate behavior, including unwanted physical contact, reportedly occurred inside the council building as well as at outside restaurants and in vehicles.

Lee was elected in the June 3 local elections and currently serves as a 10th-term Gwanak-gu Council member. The complainant also continues to work as a Gwanak-gu Council employee.

In response to the allegations, some council members submitted a disciplinary motion against Lee in July. An ethics special committee was subsequently formed during the 315th extraordinary session, and the case went through consultations with an ethics advisory committee and five rounds of ethics special committee review. The committee voted at its fifth meeting to expel Lee.

The expulsion motion was put to a vote at the second plenary session of the 316th regular session on Sept. 16 and was ultimately rejected.

Community groups in Gwanak-gu have been calling for the expulsion motion to be resubmitted and acted on swiftly. "The rejection of the expulsion motion does not make the sexual violence disappear or reduce the Gwanak-gu Council's responsibility," a representative of Gwanak Gongdong Haengdong said. "On the contrary, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's investigation has now confirmed all the charges, and the reality is that the council's responsibility has only grown since the motion's defeat."