Park Ji-won Opposes 'Side Agreement Signature' Allegation... Joo Ho-young Says "Please File a Complaint"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, is attending an emergency party meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Regarding Park Ji-won, the newly appointed Director of the National Intelligence Service, who reacted strongly by saying he would "consider legal action" against the allegations of signing a '3 billion dollar secret inter-Korean economic cooperation agreement' raised during the confirmation hearing, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, said, "Please just file a complaint."

In an interview with News1 on the 29th, Floor Leader Joo said, "If Director Park files a complaint, the investigative agencies will dig into where that document came from."

Floor Leader Joo cited the verdict from the 2003 special prosecution on North Korea remittances as evidence, saying, "The verdict states that our government proposed support for social overhead capital facilities worth 2 to 3 billion dollars, so there is some level of proof," and argued, "If our government proposed it, isn't it highly likely that the 'inter-Korean economic cooperation agreement' actually exists?"

He continued, "If that document exists, there should be one original copy in Pyongyang and one in South Korea, managed with utmost secrecy," and added, "Director Park himself denies it (as a forged document) because he probably thinks it would not be easy to compare it with the original."

He further stated, "Instead of claiming the document is false or fabricated, evidence must be presented. Isn't he the one who even denied what was stated in the verdict?" and pointed out, "Park's consistent claim was that the inter-Korean summit was made purely and nothing was given in return, but wasn't that broken by the special prosecution on North Korea remittances? Therefore, his current claims cannot be accepted. The truth will be revealed soon."

Earlier, on the 27th, Floor Leader Joo raised the suspicion at the Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly that "Director Park signed a document providing a total of 3 billion dollars separately to North Korea during the process of the June 15, 2000 inter-Korean summit."

Floor Leader Joo revealed a document titled "Agreement on Economic Cooperation" and claimed, "The agreement contains content that dollars would be provided based on humanitarian spirit in light of the inter-Korean summit. The signature is exactly the same."

In response, Director Park rebutted, "The signature was forged to slander me and President Kim Dae-jung," and said, "I will request an investigation by the investigative agencies."

On the 28th, Director Park issued a statement saying, "Reveal the real name of the former high-ranking official who reported the copy. The agreement is false and fabricated, and I will consider legal action against Floor Leader Joo."

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