The apparent suicide of Seoul’s mayor has exposed rifts in President Moon Jae-in’s progressive camp between an old guard wanting to honor one of their own and a younger generation looking to steer clear of someone suspected of sexual harassment.
The official mourning for Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who died last week, has also turned into a soul-searching period for Moon’s liberal base as it assesses whether he’s lived up to his pledge to be a "feminist president.”
Park, who became a progressive hero for winning a landmark sexual harassment case as a lawyer years ago, had one of his former secretaries file charges against him last week for what she said was inappropriate physical contact and obscene messages and images sent to her phone.