Kim Eo-jun "Park Cheol-min's additional cash bundle photo, around 70 to 80 million won... Don't they even do basic checks?"

"No opposition lawmakers mentioned"
"Because spreading false information leads to prosecution"

A photo of a stack of money additionally revealed by Park Cheol-min, a former member of the Seongnam International Mafia Group in Gyeonggi. / Photo by Lawyer Jang Young-ha

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Kim Eo-jun, the host of Traffic Broadcasting System (TBS) program 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' (News Factory), criticized the 'additional money bundle photo' released by Park Cheol-min, a former member of the Seongnam International Mafia faction in Gyeonggi Province, saying the amount was "far too small to be considered a bribe."

On the 28th, Kim said on TBS's 'News Factory', "After the Chosun Ilbo released additional photos of Park Cheol-min's money bundles on the 26th, several media outlets introduced them, making the portal main pages," adding, "Judging by the bank straps on the bundles in the photo, the 50,000 won bills amount to 5 million won, and the 10,000 won bills to 10 million won. Roughly calculating the total, it is around 70 to 80 million won."

He continued, "There is also a check, but no one would give a check as a bribe. For this check to amount to about 300 million won, the total would be 370 million won," pointing out, "Checks over 100 million won are printed with red ink, but the check in the photo is blue ink, indicating an amount in the 1 million won range."

Kim pointed out that even if the value of all items captured in the photo is summed, it does not exceed 300 million won. He said, "There is also a stone ring in the photo. But who would give a stone ring as a bribe?" adding, "Even if you total all the gold items, it would be around 3 million won, making the total 70 to 80 million won. They presented this as 370 million won, and failing to check such basics is criminal election campaigning."

He also noted, "No opposition party lawmakers have mentioned this," adding, "Because spreading false information would lead to accusations."

TBS 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' host Kim Eo-jun pointed out that the photo of a stack of money belonging to former gangster Park Cheol-min does not appear to be 370 million won. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 26th, Park released a fact confirmation statement through his legal representative, lawyer Jang Young-ha, revealing the money bundle photo and stating, "If you entrust the administration to presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, I can say with certainty it will be a gangster regime."

Park claimed that the total amount of money in the photo reached 370 million won and that this amount was divided and delivered to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and a certain police officer.

In a separate fact confirmation statement, Park said, "If former Governor Lee Jae-myung and the Seongnam International Mafia are not in a symbiotic relationship, although my words are extreme, I will stake my life," adding, "I will gather all evidence and soon file a formal complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission together with lawyer Jang and the legal team."

This is not the first time Park has claimed to have given bribes to candidate Lee and released photos of money bundles. He previously released two other photos of money bundles, one of which was revealed to have been posted on his Facebook in 2018, raising questions about the credibility of his testimony.

Regarding this, lawyer Jang explained at a press conference on the 20th, "Although the money was not Park's own, the reason for posting it on Facebook was for show-off and bravado."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party filed a complaint with the prosecution on the 22nd against lawyer Jang, who raised suspicions about candidate Lee's alleged gangster connections, on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act.

Shin Sun-il, head of the Democratic Party's Civil Complaints Legal Bureau, after submitting the complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, told reporters, "Lawyer Jang, a member of the People Power Party, colluded with gangster Park Cheol-min, who has a drug conviction, to repeatedly spread false information about candidate Lee," criticizing, "This is an act that misleads the presidential election electorate and seriously undermines the fairness and objectivity of the presidential election."

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