A former parliamentary leader received a suspended prison sentence on Monday for sexually harassing a golf caddie in this central city in September.
Park Hee-tae, who led the National Assembly from 2010 to 2012, was convicted of inappropriately touching a female caddie several times at a golf course in Wonju, some 132 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
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| Ex-parliament chief Park Hee-tae convicted of sexual harassment. (Yonhap) |
The local branch of the Chuncheon District Court sentenced him to six months in jail with a one-year stay of execution and ordered him to take 40 hours of anti-sexual violence education.
Park persistently groped the plaintiff, identified only as a 24-year-old caddie, until the ninth hole, Judge Park Byeong-min said in the ruling.
And while the plaintiff had withdrawn her accusations, sexual harassment is a serious crime punishable even without the plaintiff’s consent, he added.
Still, the judge said he took into consideration that the plaintiff no longer wished to punish the former lawmaker and that she had reached an agreement with Park and withdrawn her accusations.
He said he also took into account that Park admitted to his wrongdoing, has no criminal record and is “of old age.”
Prosecutors had called for a fine of 3 million won ($2,721) in addition to the anti-sexual violence education.
Park said he will consider whether to appeal but declined to comment further. (Yonhap)
