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Former PPP lawmaker Chang Je-won found dead Monday night: Report

Published: 01 Apr. 2025, 06:44 Updated: 01 Apr. 2025, 09:37

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Former People Power Party lawmaker Chang Je-won speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly on Dec. 12, 2023. [YONHAP]

Former People Power Party lawmaker Chang Je-won was found dead late Monday night, according to a local report.

Chang was found dead at a building in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, at around 11:40 p.m. Monday, according to a report from Yonhap News Agency. There are no suspicions of homicide at the scene, according to police in the Yonhap report.

A suicide note, apparently written by Chang, was left at the scene, according to police.

Police are investigating the exact circumstances of the death.

Chang, who served three terms as a member of the National Assembly, was accused in January this year of sexual assault against a former secretary when he was vice president of a university in Busan in November 2015.

He has been denying the sexual assault allegations, and also reportedly denied the allegations when he was summoned by the police for questioning on Friday.

However, on Monday, the alleged victim's attorneys released a video that was presumed to have been filmed in a hotel room in Gangnam at the time of the incident.

The video shows Chang calling the secretary's name and asking her to bring him water, attempting to assault her and the victim responding with a sobbing voice.

The secretary's attorneys also said that she had collected evidence of an assault using an emergency kit after the incident.

The secretary against whom Chang allegedly committed sexual assault planned to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, Lifeline Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191. The Seoul Foreign Resident Center offers English-language counseling. Contact 02-2229-4900 to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]