Full Transcript of Reporter Dongjae Lee's Recording Released... Lawyer Claims "MBC's Distorted Reporting"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The full transcript of the recorded conversation between former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae (35, detained), who is at the center of the 'alleged collusion between prosecutors and media,' and Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon (47, 27th Judicial Research and Training Institute) was released on the 21st.

According to the transcript released that day, Prosecutor Han responded to Lee's remark that he had assigned a junior colleague to cover news related to Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, and was investigating by visiting the residence of Lee Cheol (55, currently incarcerated), former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK), saying, "That's worth trying."

Some interpret this statement as evidence of conspiracy.

MBC reported with the same implication the previous day. To refute this, Lee's lawyer released the full transcript on the same day, claiming it was a "distorted report."

The lawyer emphasized regarding Lee's statement about assigning a colleague to cover Yoo Si-min, "It was not targeting a specific politician, but the lecture fee allegations related to Yoo Si-min had already been raised in the media."

Therefore, Prosecutor Han also responded in the sense that "since such allegations had already been raised in the media, it was worth pursuing."

The lawyer stated, "There was never any mention of investigating only 'ruling party figures related to the ShillaJen case,'" and added, "The remark about visiting family members does not mean looking for 'family corruption,' but rather, since Lee Cheol was sentenced to a heavy prison term, it meant trying to persuade him by contacting his family."

The lawyer stressed, "Only 20% of the approximately 20-minute conversation was related to ShillaJen," and "Considering the overall context of the transcript, it does not discuss or conspire to illegally threaten or pressure Lee Cheol to obtain criminal information about Yoo Si-min."

According to the 7-page transcript released by Lee's lawyer, on February 13, Lee met Prosecutor Han at the office of the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Busan High Prosecutors' Office and said, "Actually, these days we especially have ○○○ do it... Although the success rate is low, as I mentioned before, while following the ShillaJen investigation, you should focus on finding Yoo Si-min."

Reporter Baek, who was present, also said, "For the investigation of Si-min."

When Lee continued the conversation saying, "He is going around looking for Lee Cheol's apartment," Prosecutor Han replied, "That's worth trying. Anyway, Yoo Si-min himself confessed. It seems like he will come out. He starts confessing first." This was immediately followed by the previously disclosed letter from Lee and Prosecutor Han's remark, "If you get caught doing something like that, so be it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.