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| Vice-chairman of the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Chung Seung-yun speaks during his inauguration held in the Sejong Government Complex, Monday. Courtesy of the ACRC |
By Lee Yeon-woo
Chung Seung-yun, a prosecutor-turned-professor of law at Pusan National University, started his first day as vice-chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), Tuesday, with an apology to the public for his past controversial choice of words.
"I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the members of ACRC," Chung said during his inauguration. "I believe that quite a few members would have worried about media reports regarding my appointment," Chung continued.
"Now as I start my new position as the vice-chairman, I'm concerned whether I can successfully meet the expectations of the public and the members of ACRC," Chung said.
Chung was at the center of a controversy last February when the presidential campaign team unveiled reform measures aimed at the police force. He was then in charge of judiciary and police reform.
In a document about the Yoon Suk Yeol government's plan to reform the police, the committee used the term "Ottoke" to refer to some female police officers who irresponsibly and incompetently uttered nothing but the phrase without action toward the criminal at a crime scene. The Korean phrase "Ottoke?" means "What am I supposed to do?" It was first used in online communities to negatively depict indecisive women.
Chung mentioned a case from 2021 in which two police officers ― one male, one female ― fled an active crime scene, leaving behind a victim while the attacker brandished a knife. He wrote, "Even before the aforementioned case happened, there were criticisms that police officers just say 'Ottoke?' and walk away from crimes as they are occurring."
Facing a backlash from women's rights activists, Chung stepped down from the post. But about a month later, he rejoined the presidential transition committee after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office.
The controversy surrounding Chung resurfaced when he was nominated for vice chairman of the ACRC last Friday.
"We know how much President Yoon values him, but it doesn't make sense to appoint a man who is full of misogyny to the vice-chairman of ACRC," Rep. Lee Soo-jin, a spokesperson of Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said during the briefing at the National Assembly last Friday.
"I am concerned whether he will only amplify gender conflicts, not protect the public's civil rights," Lee added.
The presidential office responded that the remarks "sprang from a mistake while explaining a policy during the campaign," and did not "cause a problem" for public service.
Chung said he did not know the term had a misogynistic connotation.
"I searched for cases in which police officers avoided crime scenes. Among the results, there was the expression 'Ottoke?' in the most well-known case. I didn't make it up. I just copied the expression used online," Chung said.
"My daughter is a college student and she said she didn't know that the term was derogatory to women … My father also started his career as an entry-level police officer and retired as an inspector. So I understand the struggle of a low-ranking police officer," Chung added, asserting his innocence.
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