[Comprehensive] 'Allegations of Reported Prosecution Instigation' Opposition Party: "Clear Oppression of the Opposition," "Park Ji-won, Sinister and Sly Image" Criticism Assault

Opposition Raises 'Alleged Report Solicitation' Suspicion in Government Questioning on 13th
Kwon Seong-dong: "Clear Political Intervention by the National Intelligence Service"
Criticism of the Corruption Investigation Office for Political Affairs' Probe into Yoon: "Clear Opposition Suppression and Excessive Investigation"

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum attended the political sector interpellation session held at the National Assembly plenary hall on the 13th and responded to questions from Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] On the 13th, the People Power Party launched a full-scale offensive during the political sector's government questioning session held at the National Assembly, raising suspicions that Park Ji-won, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, was involved in the so-called 'accusation coaching' surrounding presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol.

On that day, People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong claimed in his questioning to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, "Important materials were intensively exchanged before and after the meeting between Ms. Cho Seong-eun, the whistleblower of the accusation coaching suspicion, and Director Park. This appears to be evidence that Director Park had a coach."

Following this, Rep. Kwon said, "Director Park originally has a shady and sinister image, but can he get away with such blatant political interference and political manipulation?" He pressured, "Even if President Moon Jae-in was involved, resignation would be appropriate."

Rep. Kwon also pressed on the relationship between Ms. Cho and Director Park. He said, "According to a close aide to Director Park, who was very close to him, I heard that Ms. Cho sent materials related to this case to Director Park before the initial report," sharpening his criticism by calling it "clear political interference by the National Intelligence Service."

Prime Minister Kim responded, "This is the first time I am hearing about this." He added, "I believe Director Park will clarify his position on such matters himself. From the reports so far, it appears that in the past, when Director Park was the party leader and Ms. Cho was a Supreme Council member, they got to know each other and received help, but they did not meet for other political reasons as the lawmaker suggests."

From the same party, Rep. Cho Hae-jin criticized the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is conducting investigations targeting candidate Yoon.

He said, "Regarding the CIO's investigation into candidate Yoon, the CIO stated in a briefing, 'We investigated because the media told us to. Whether there is guilt or not is another matter.' What kind of nonsense is that?" He pointed out, "They did not detect any criminal charges but said they would start investigating now, yet they listed four criminal charges as candidate Yoon's offenses. Is this a statement or an outrageous remark?"

Addressing Prime Minister Kim, he urged, "Electing a president like this is shameful and a self-destructive act that undermines political legitimacy and public trust. Elections should not be conducted this way. I ask the Prime Minister to manage this exemplarily."

Prime Minister Kim promised, "The government will do its best to ensure that the democratic decision-making process is not negatively affected."

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is attending the government-related questions session in the political field held at the National Assembly plenary session on the afternoon of the 13th, responding to questions from Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Rep. Jeon Ju-hye also criticized the CIO's investigation as excessive. She said, "As soon as a civic group filed a complaint with the CIO on the 6th, candidate Yoon and prosecutor Son Jun-sung were registered as suspects at lightning speed within three days. On the next day, the 10th, the office of Rep. Kim Woong, who was a witness, was raided," condemning it as "clear opposition suppression and excessive investigation."

Rep. Jeon added, "During the raid on Rep. Kim Woong's office PC, keywords unrelated to the accusation were entered, including names like 'Miae,' 'Osu,' and 'Gyeongsim.' This is sufficient reason for reasonable suspicion that an unrelated investigation beyond the scope of the search warrant was conducted."

Prime Minister Kim drew a line, saying, "The CIO is not an agency under the Prime Minister's command." Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye also explained, "Search warrants are not simply issued. Two conditions must be met: evidence of a crime and relevance to the case."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Director Park denied allegations of prior collusion in the 'accusation coaching' whistleblowing in an interview with Hankyoreh, saying, "They are making baseless moves to obscure the essence."

Regarding his acquaintance with Ms. Cho, he rebutted, "(Ms. Cho) is a junior whom I always ask about youth issues," adding, "What special relationship could I possibly have with her?"

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