Park Hyung-jun, Responds to Ruling Party's Prosecution Accusation: "Never Ordered Illegal Surveillance"

"Democratic Party and National Intelligence Service's Political Manipulation"

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun is delivering a greeting at the '2030 Busan World Expo Bid Committee Inaugural General Meeting' held on the 13th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] When the Democratic Party of Korea announced its intention to file a complaint with the prosecution against Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun for false public statements denying his involvement in illegal surveillance of opponents to the Four Major Rivers Project during the Lee Myung-bak administration, Mayor Park rebutted, saying, "I never ordered nor was involved in illegal surveillance."

On the 13th, Mayor Park stated in a press release, "The Democratic Party has once again filed a complaint against me for violating election laws. They claim I made false public statements by denying my involvement in illegal surveillance related to the Four Major Rivers Project," expressing his position.

Earlier that day, the Democratic Party announced it would file a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office accusing Mayor Park of false public statements regarding illegal surveillance. In the complaint, the Democratic Party said, "It has been confirmed through an investigation by the National Intelligence Service's Inspection Office that Mayor Park reported to then-President Lee Myung-bak about management plans concerning key opponents of the Four Major Rivers Project during his tenure as the Blue House Public Relations Officer."

The Democratic Party claimed that despite Mayor Park's involvement in illegal surveillance, including reporting to the president and receiving instructions for follow-up measures, he denied these allegations during the recent Busan mayoral election.

In response, Mayor Park said, "I cannot comprehend the contents of the 2017 National Intelligence Service's Task Force on Clearing Deep-rooted Evils inspection report cited as evidence this time," adding, "It is absurd to suggest that the Blue House Public Relations Officer would report National Intelligence Service materials directly to the president, and I swear I have never reported such materials to the president while working at the Blue House."

He further argued, "Even if I had reported to the president, it is highly unlikely that such discussions or reports would have been made publicly in front of multiple people, and if they were private meetings, I cannot understand how the National Intelligence Service could have known the president's remarks without wiretapping."

He concluded, "This issue is part of a political operation by the Democratic Party and the National Intelligence Service aimed at undermining me to target Busan, a strategic key point ahead of the presidential election," and stated, "I believe in the power of truth and will respond confidently."

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