Suspected Shift to 'Jebosaju'? Opposition Party Launches One-Sided Firestorm Assault

Yoon Seok-yeol's Side Reiterates 'Political Conspiracy' Claim
Jo Seong-eun Raises Suspicion of Close Ties with NIS Director

Voices Raised Over 'Park Ji-won Gate'
Ruling Party Fails to Switch to Defense Mode
States Will Wait for Investigation Results

Park Min-sik (center), a former lawmaker and member of the Yoon Seok-yeol National Campaign Political Conspiracy Truth Investigation Special Committee, and his lawyers are moving with a complaint in hand on the morning of the 13th in front of the Government Complex Gwacheon to submit a complaint to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials against Park Ji-won, the National Intelligence Service Director, and Cho Seong-eun, among others, for violations of the National Intelligence Service Act and the Public Official Election Act.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Boryeong Geum] The fierce battle between the ruling and opposition parties over the ‘accusation coaching’ allegations seems to have shifted into a one-sided offensive by the opposition. The opposition is strongly framing the issue as the ‘Park Jiwon Gate’ and labeling it as ‘tip-off coaching,’ while the ruling party has not added much beyond calling it a ‘distraction tactic.’

The camp of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol reiterated that there is no evidence linking Yoon to the accusation coaching allegations and called it a ‘political conspiracy.’ Kim Byung-min, spokesperson for Yoon’s campaign, appeared on KBS Radio on the 14th and stated, "What the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Department (HOCI) should focus on is where the accusation documents were created and, if they were created within the prosecution, why they were passed on. Instead, they have registered a leading opposition presidential candidate as a suspect without any causal relationship." Lee Sang-il, director of public relations, also said on CBS Radio, "If former Prosecutor General Yoon had done such a thing (accusation coaching), he would likely have been dismissed immediately from his position. Do you think he would have done that?" He added, "At that time, even if the opposition party offered to file accusations, it would have been a situation where it should have been stopped."

He also expressed confidence that there is a connection between the initial whistleblower, former Future United Party election committee vice-chair Cho Seong-eun, and Park Jiwon, director of the National Intelligence Service. Lee said, "They met on August 11, and Cho kept downloading the Telegram files received from Representative Kim Woong on August 10. There were 106 files as of August 10," raising suspicions of Park’s involvement. Yoon’s campaign is also reportedly suggesting the possibility that Lee Pil-hyung, head of the organizational headquarters in Hong Joon-pyo’s People Power Party camp, was present with Park and former vice-chair Cho. In response, Representative Hong posted on Facebook that day, "Spreading false rumors as if someone from our camp was involved, and when asked to specify, they counterattack by telling reporters to investigate. This is a very poorly learned and bad political behavior," rebutting the claims.

On the 12th, Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party, spoke at the National Assembly about procedural issues related to the search and seizure of Assemblyman Kim Woong's office by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), as well as the meeting between Cho Seong-eun, the whistleblower of the 'report solicitation' suspicion and former vice chairman of the United Future Party (now People Power Party) election committee, and Park Ji-won, the director of the National Intelligence Service. Meanwhile, Park Ji-won stated that although he met with former Vice Chairman Cho Seong-eun, they did not discuss the relevant suspicion at all. 2021.9.12 [Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers] [Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party held the first meeting of the Fair Election Promotion Team that morning to investigate the truth behind the accusation coaching allegations. They are expected to actively respond to the ruling party’s political conspiracy, including the accusation coaching issue. Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member and head of the team, told reporters after the meeting, "It is important to verify the facts of the problematic issues, confirm the facts, and understand what kind of political conspiracy is being carried out to respond accordingly." He added, "This includes explaining our position to the media, legally filing complaints with judicial authorities, various legal responses, and all strategic support for the response."

On the other hand, the ruling party has not succeeded in quickly switching from an offensive to a defensive mode since the initial allegations. Their strategy appears to be to wait until concrete investigation results are released. On the same day, Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a floor strategy meeting, "This kind of distraction, attacking the whistleblower, and attacking investigative agencies clearly shows that the People Power Party was involved in a prosecutorial coup conspiracy or was a key participant or accomplice themselves."

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