Top S. Korean politician resigns after s_xual misconduct allegations

Seoul, March 6 (IANS) Ahn Hee-jung, the Governor of South Korea's South Chungcheong Province and a prominent politician once tipped as a presidential contender, resigned on Tuesday after his secretary claimed that he had s_xually assaulted her several times.

In a Facebook post, Ahn "begged forgiveness" for his "foolish behaviour" and said denials issued by his office were untrue.

"It is all my fault. I seek forgiveness for my foolish act," he wrote, admitting his s_xual misconduct.

The woman, Kim Ji-eun, appeared on local television network JTBC's news programme on Monday evening and made her allegations public. She said she planned to file a legal complaint against Ahn on Tuesday, the Korean Herald reported. 

Kim accused the 54-year-old of raping her four times over the course of eight months, from June 2017 to February, and said he had s_xually harassed her on many occasions.

She also alleged there were other victims in Ahn's office. Kim said the #MeToo campaign, sparked by the widespread allegations of s_xual abuse in Hollywood, had given her the courage to come forward.

The campaign, which has seen thousands using the hashtag to share their experiences of s_xual harassment, has spread across the globe.

It was slow to take off in South Korea, but recently gained ground after a number of women came forward.

Ahn's office had initially claimed that he had consensual s_x with Kim. However, later Ahn said his office had "falsely" announced that the relationship was consensual.

Ahn worked as a political aide to the late President Roh Moo-hyun during Roh's presidential campaign in 2002. He ran against current President Moon Jae-in to be the Democratic Party of Korea's nominee for the 2017 presidential elections. 

Though he lost, he was widely seen as a leading candidate to replace Moon in the 2022 elections.