The diocese has announced that Han admitted to most of the charges. The priest has been suspended from his duties.

On Sunday, the Catholic Priests Association for Justice issued a statement saying, "We deeply repent for the wretched actions of Rev. Han." Han quit CPAJ in light of the alleged crime.

"We accept his violent actions, which has darkened the human spirit, as something our group should jointly be held accountable for," CPAJ said. "We ask for forgiveness from the victim, who has gone through her hidden pain for a long period of time."

CPAJ has been a cornerstone of the pro-democracy movement in South Korea. It played a key role in resistance against the former military-backed authoritarian regimes of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, meanwhile, is looking into a separate sexual harassment allegation involving a senior member of the Catholic Human Rights Committee.

A priest with a managerial role on the committee, whose name was withheld, is accused of sexually harassing a female activist in 2014. The alleged victim wrote on her social media that the suspected offender apologized but later spread rumors that it was done by mutual consent. She also claimed that her fellow activists ignored her plea for help. (Yonhap)