On-Duty Soldier's Side "Prosecution Admits Phone Call Between Minister Chu's Son and On-Duty Soldier" Recording Released... Complaint Against Minister Chu

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Hyun Mo, the duty soldier who reported allegations of "special leave" during the military service of Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice's son Seo Mo, has announced his intention to file a defamation lawsuit with the police against Minister Choo and Seo's lawyers.

Kim Young-soo, director of the Defense Rights Research Institute and former defense investigator at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, representing Hyun, posted a statement on his Facebook on the 6th, saying, "We will file a defamation lawsuit with the police against lawyer Hyun Geun-taek, who represents Minister Choo and Seo, for making false statements that Hyun lied."

Kim also stated, "We plan to file defamation lawsuits against about 800 people who used abusive and insulting language at an unacceptable level through social network services (SNS)."

However, regarding Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, who revealed Hyun's real name and called him the sole perpetrator, Kim said, "Since he apologized to the person involved, we decided not to file a lawsuit," and added, "We will not file separate lawsuits against some journalists who reported that Hyun lied without verifying objective facts, but will raise the issue through the Press Arbitration Commission, etc."

Kim said, "Hyun only spoke the substantive truth he personally experienced, but groups and individuals with political interests, factional logic, and ignoring objective facts, with confirmation bias, made a young man a national liar to confirm their beliefs." He added, "After the investigation results prove the facts, it is common sense and a basic human decency to acknowledge that their claims were not true and to apologize or at least express regret to the person involved."

Kim also disclosed a phone conversation with the public relations officer of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office regarding Seo's side's claim that Seo and Hyun never spoke about the leave return issue. In the call, when Kim protested the lawyer's claim that "(on June 25, 2017) Hyun never spoke with Seo," the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office public relations officer replied, "After being asked repeatedly, we confirmed with the investigation team that Seo also admitted the call during the prosecution investigation. The fact is correct."

Earlier, on the 2nd of last month, Seo's legal team issued a statement saying, "On Sunday the 25th, when A claimed to have been on duty, Seo's leave had already been processed, so there was no reason to call the duty soldier," and "All situations described by A are false."

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