Content warning: this article contains references to sexual assault.

On Monday, USC withdrew a motion to destroy all “USC confidential materials” that USC produced during a lawsuit filed by Iris Kim accusing Choong Whan Park, a former Marshall School of Business professor, of sexual harassment and assault.

On Aug. 25, USC filed a motion that claimed that Kim and her attorneys violated a stipulation and protective order — which would not allow for the use of the documents other than in litigation — set on Nov. 5, 2021.

The motion stated that Kim, a 2019 Marshall alum, and her attorneys at The Garza Firm would destroy all of the “confidential” documents found during the lawsuit. The motion references an essay that Kim published about her experiences during the lawsuit, where she wrote that her lawyers had given her a black binder with the documents from the case and told her to write whatever she wanted about them publicly. 

USC claimed that, because the Garza Firm provided these materials to Kim and told her to write whatever she wanted, both Kim and the Garza Firm violated the protective order not to share the “confidential materials” outside of the case.

In 2020, Kim filed a complaint with USC’s Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX — now known as the Office of Civil Rights Compliance — accusing Park of sexually harassing and assaulting her five times over a two-year period. 

Kim, who worked as an assistant for Park, sued him for sexual harassment and assault as well as USC for discrimination in April 2021. The lawsuit discovery process disclosed emails between EEO-TIX officials, Marshall Dean Geoffrey Garrett, and Park discussing a retirement deal to end the investigation. 

However, in an email from Park, he states that when Kim filed the lawsuit, the EEO-TIX vice president decided that they would not allow for the case to be dropped, even with Park’s resignation. 

In a Los Angeles Public Press article about the case by USC alum Madhri Yehiya, an EEO-TIX office statement said Park was not offered a retirement deal and that the University followed its investigatory process for dealing with this specific harassment case.

In summer 2022, EEO-TIX dismissed the claim after none of the parties elected to participate in the investigation. Later, Kim accepted an out-of-court settlement in September 2023, right before the case went to trial, according to a Los Angeles Press Club article.

Publicly available documents include the emails from EEO-TIX officials that state, “if [Park] decided to retire now and not teach, we potentially would halt the case, provided there would be no option for his rehire.” 

The emails also show Park stating that he will retire regardless of the Title IX investigation decision. Park, 80, retired in 2021. 

USC’s withdrawn motion on Oct. 6 is the most recent activity from either party in this court case.

If you are in need of support, here are some resources you can contact: USC Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services, located at Engemann Student Health Center Suite 356; Individuals can call (213)-740-9355 and request to speak with an advocate or counselor. Services are confidential; Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a free, confidential hotline that is active 24/7. Individuals can call (800)-656-4673.