Jang Kyung-tae denies sexual harassment, claims political targeting

Independent lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae has denied allegations of quasi-forcible sexual harassment, claiming the incident was actually an act of dating violence by the accuser's former partner. During a press conference, Jang stated he has submitted evidence to the police, including KakaoTalk chat logs from attendees of the dinner in question, to support his claim that the accuser's boyfriend was the aggressor.

Jang further alleged that the video used to support the harassment claims was intentionally filmed for political purposes. He presented recordings suggesting that the individual who filmed the incident had previously mentioned to Dongdaemun District Office employees that they were filming specifically because Jang was present. Jang contends that the footage was part of a coordinated effort to create political disadvantage ahead of local elections.

Jang, who left the Democratic Party following the allegations, has countersued the accuser and the individual who filmed the video for false accusation. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit has recently conducted a lengthy interrogation of Jang as part of its investigation into the validity of the claims.