South Korean governor quits over sexual assault claim

An up-and-coming South Korean provincial governor announced his resignation on Tuesday, just hours after an aide accused him of repeated sexual assault, as the snowballing #MeToo movement rattled the country’s political establishment.

The woman accused An Hee-jung, a leading hopeful in last year’s presidential election and a member of President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party, in a television interview on Monday evening. Police said were investigating the allegations.

An’s office initially claimed that the sex was consensual.

However, just a few hours after the interview was aired, An took to Facebook to say his staff ’s statement was erroneous and announced he planned to resign and retire from political life.

“My staff office’s description of the relationship as consensual was incorrect,” he wrote. “Everything is my fault.”

The Chungnam provincial police department said it has launched an investigation following the allegations.

Discussion of sexual misconduct has long been taboo in South Korea, but in recent months the anti-sexual harassment #MeToo movement has taken off, ensnaring a range of high-profile figures from the entertainment industry to the religious community to the literary world.

Speaking to broadcaster JTBC, An’s aide, Kim Ji-eun, said An had sexually harassed and then repeatedly assaulted her.

“Over the past eight months I have been sexually assaulted four times,” she told broadcaster JTBC.