Park Beom-gye 'Alleged Assault on Exam Student'..."I Almost Got Assaulted" vs "Clear Lie"

Park Beom-gye Denies Allegations of Assaulting Exam Candidates as "Not True"

Minister of Justice nominee Park Beom-gye is arriving at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, where the hearing preparation office is located, on the morning of the 6th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Amid allegations that Park Beom-gye, the nominee for Minister of Justice, assaulted and verbally abused a bar exam candidate who demanded a meeting with him five years ago while advocating for the retention of the judicial examination, a dispute over the truth is unfolding.

Park denied the allegations, stating that he was the one who was nearly assaulted, while the representative of a civic group present at the scene at the time refuted this, calling it an "excuse" and denying that Park had assaulted anyone.

On the 5th, Park arrived at the personnel hearing preparation office on the 15th floor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, and when asked by reporters about the assault allegations against the bar exam candidate, he responded, "It’s the opposite. I was the one who was almost assaulted." He also said he would explain the specific details at the personnel hearing.

Lee Jong-bae, the representative of the "Bar Exam Candidates’ Group for the Retention of the Judicial Examination," who was present at the scene, issued a statement on the 6th saying, "The media reports on the assault incident involving the bar exam candidate and the nominee Park are 100% true," and claimed, "Park’s statement that he was almost assaulted is a clear falsehood and a lie that will be punished by heaven."

Lee added, "If he continues to deny the assault and does not apologize for spreading false information, we will reveal the truth through investigation. We will file a complaint on the 11th."

Previously, Park was accused of grabbing the collar of a bar exam candidate who demanded a meeting while advocating for the retention of the judicial examination in November 2016 and verbally abusing him.

The Chosun Ilbo reported the allegations based on an audio recording obtained through a lawmaker’s office affiliated with the People Power Party, stating that Park assaulted and verbally abused the bar exam candidate at his officetel located in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, in November 2016.

The bar exam candidate, who identified himself as the victim, claimed that Park grabbed his collar, forced his personal secretary to take a photo of his face, and when he protested the visit to the officetel, Park mentioned charges of intimidation and violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in approved the personnel hearing request for Park on the afternoon of the 6th. Since the request has been submitted to the National Assembly, the hearing is expected to be held by the 25th of this month. According to the Personnel Hearing Act, the National Assembly must complete the hearing process within 20 days of receiving the request.

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