Ha Tae-kyung: "Park Ji-won Should Be Investigated for Possibly Leaking State Secrets to Cho Seong-eun"

Hataekyung "Park Jiwon’s Cell Phone Must Be Seized"
People Power Party Urges Intelligence Committee Meeting... "Park Jiwon 'Political Plot' Investigation Needed"

Hataekyung, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Ha Tae-kyung, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, raised the possibility that Cho Seong-eun (former vice chairman of the Future United Party's election countermeasures committee), the whistleblower in the so-called 'accusation ordering' scandal, and Park Ji-won, the Director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), may have shared state secrets.

On the 14th, Ha posted on his Facebook, saying, "The classified information that Director Park testified about at the National Assembly Intelligence Committee was fully disclosed to Cho Seong-eun," and emphasized, "An investigation should be conducted to determine whether Director Park leaked state secrets to Cho Seong-eun."

Ha pointed out that the content Park spoke about confidentially at the National Assembly Intelligence Committee in February appeared around the same time on Cho’s Facebook posts, making such claims.

He explained, "'If this is made public, many people will get divorced' was a remark Director Park made confidentially at the National Assembly Intelligence Committee in February this year," adding, "The National Intelligence Service under the Park Geun-hye administration and previous governments conducted illegal surveillance on politicians, and if those details are revealed, many people would get divorced. This means that the surveillance content includes sensitive matters."

He continued, "Director Park’s expression was so hardcore that I remember the Intelligence Committee did not brief on this content after the session ended," and pointed out, "However, around the same time, the exact same content appeared on Cho Seong-eun’s Facebook. This is information that could not have been written without hearing it from Director Park."

He also claimed, "Director Park often mentioned during Intelligence Committee meetings that 'in the past, when the NIS director passed by, even birds flying would fall, but nowadays, not a single bird flies when the NIS director passes.' A similar statement appeared in Cho Seong-eun’s Facebook post."

In fact, on February 15, Cho wrote on her Facebook, "Beyond the days when birds would fall when flying, now even when I walk, birds don’t fly away."

Regarding this, Ha said, "This suggests that Director Park shared the NIS’s external confidential information with Cho Seong-eun," and raised his voice, "The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) must immediately investigate whether there is more classified information leaked by Director Park to Cho Seong-eun."

Finally, he directly questioned, "If the two are close enough to share NIS external secrets, how can anyone believe they did not discuss the accusation ordering incident?"

Park Ji-won, Director of the National Intelligence Service, is announcing the end of national surveillance and delivering a public apology at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office Building on the afternoon of the 27th of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Ha also appeared on CBS Radio’s 'One Round Match' on the same day and argued that Director Park’s phone should be seized and the NIS director’s office searched.

He said, "In Director Park’s case, he must submit his phone to prove his innocence," and emphasized, "The NIS director is a public official. This is the Moon Jae-in administration itself, and the NIS under Moon Jae-in could again be stigmatized as the base of political operations like in the past. In such a case, if it is not true, it is right for him to actively explain."

Meanwhile, People Power Party members of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee issued a joint statement on the same day demanding Director Park’s dismissal and the convening of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee.

In the joint statement, People Power Party lawmakers Ha Tae-kyung, Kim Ki-hyun, Cho Tae-yong, and Shin Won-sik said, "Director Park must immediately disclose to the public why he met with Cho and what was discussed," and "The National Assembly Intelligence Committee must be convened immediately to investigate the truth behind the allegations of Director Park’s interference in the presidential election through political operations."

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