Supreme Court Justice Jo Jae-yeon: "'That Person' Allegation in Recording is Groundless... No Acquaintance with Kim Man-bae"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the 23rd, Cho Jae-yeon, a Supreme Court Justice who was identified as 'that person' in the Jung Young-hak recording, a key clue in the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development reported recently in the media, voluntarily held a press conference and denied all allegations surrounding him.

At the press conference held in the Supreme Court's main conference room, Justice Cho showed a printed article titled "'That person' appearing in the Jung Young-hak recording was a sitting Supreme Court Justice" (Hankook Ilbo, February 18) and stated, "This is completely unfounded."

This is the first time a sitting Supreme Court Justice has held a press conference to clarify their position. He explained, "Regarding the Daejang-dong allegations, which have become a political controversy, I wondered why such suspicious articles suddenly appeared just before the election. A similar incident occurred briefly around October last year. At that time, I was asked to confirm facts and provided a detailed explanation, but it was not widely reported. About a month ago, I received a similar inquiry and explained again, but it was also not reported."

He continued, "I do not know whether the true identity of 'that person' in Daejang-dong has been clarified or if the suspicions have been resolved. The day before yesterday, during a live broadcast debate aired nationwide, a candidate directly named a sitting Supreme Court Justice, stating, 'It has now been confirmed that that person related to Hwacheon Daeyu is Supreme Court Justice Cho Jae-yeon.' To my knowledge, this is an unprecedented and extraordinary event."

He also emphasized, "Although I have received numerous business cards from reporters, none from Kim Man-bae," stressing that he has no acquaintance with Kim. He stated, "If materials related to the allegations are requested, I will disclose them immediately," and added, "If false information seriously damages another's reputation, legal action is necessary." He indicated that he would consider legal measures if mentions linking him to the Daejang-dong allegations arise in political circles or elsewhere.

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