Park Na-rae | Kwon Do-hyun, reporter

This goes beyond a mere personal impropriety; it has spilled into the public realm. Even as the year turns, the scandal surrounding broadcaster Park Na-rae has begun in earnest to feed on prurient interest in her private life.

The former managers who filed complaints with investigative authorities against Park Na-rae over alleged workplace bullying and injury also submitted a petition to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. On the 2nd, Channel A reported that “the former managers submitted a petition to the Gangnam Branch of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office on the 18th of last month and made specific claims that harm occurred while traveling by car”.

The back-and-forth between Park Na-rae and the former managers originally began with allegations of workplace bullying and injury. In early last month, the former managers claimed that while carrying out schedules, they were subjected to power abuse and verbal abuse by Park. Later, an allegation was added that she operated an unregistered one-person agency.

The issue escalated in earnest with the emergence of a figure known as ‘Injection Aunt’. It became a social controversy as this person was reported to have no qualification to perform medical procedures in Korea.

Beyond the Injection Aunt, power abuse, and verbal abuse
“a specific act in the back seat”
Revelations encroaching on the private sphere continue
Public fatigue is mounting
Dignity is also being damaged
Judgment of right and wrong should be left to investigative authorities

Rumors even spread to other celebrities such as Key of SHINee and the YouTuber Ipjalbeun Haetnim, and began to proliferate under the name ‘Injection Aunt Gate’, reminiscent of a political scandal. Questions about whether the actions of this ‘Injection Aunt’ were appropriate and about the parties responses became the decisive trigger for Park Na-rae to halt her broadcasting activities and issue an apology.

Although they said they reconciled, the controversy only grew. Sensational lines that stoke public voyeurism proliferated, such as “suggested going to a karaoke room instead of apologizing” and “performed a specific act in the back seat”. Their dispute is now subject to formal judgment by national investigative bodies, yet the disclosures by the former managers have not stopped.

Of course, illegal acts by the ‘Injection Aunt’, operating an unregistered agency, and conduct such as workplace bullying or injury are improper for a public figure who lives on public affection, and they deserve criticism.

However, even personal behavior that may fall within private life is gradually being used as grounds for public censure, giving the impression that the line is being crossed.

Furthermore, Park Na-rae is a recognizable face, while the former managers are not. The attacks on Park have not ceased, and their intensity is slowly shifting into the private realm.

For now, all determinations have moved into the legal arena. For the rights of the parties at this stage, if even a slender possibility of false accusation remains, it is right to cease further ‘firing’. Because of this today, public fatigue is growing, and the dignity of one person is being damaged to an unfathomable extent.

Let investigative authorities judge right and wrong, and if there is wrongdoing, let punishment follow. On the basis of claims from one side that surfaced in the petition process, a person is being stripped bare before the public. We should deal with wrongdoing as wrongdoing, not burn someone at the stake.