[On-site Video] "Completely Groundless" Justice Jo Jaeyeon Denies Daejangdong 'Geubun' Allegations

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, PD Yoon Jin-geun] "\"The person mentioned in the Jung Young-hak recording in the media reports was a sitting Supreme Court Justice. That was the article. It is completely unfounded and...\", \"If the prosecution deems it necessary, please call me immediately.\"

On the 23rd, Supreme Court Justice Cho Jae-yeon (66, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 12), who was referred to as 'that person' by Kim Man-bae in the so-called 'Jung Young-hak recording' related to Daejang-dong, issued a statement. Justice Cho held an unplanned press conference himself and expressed strong displeasure, stating that all the allegations raised were completely groundless. This is the first time a sitting Supreme Court Justice has held a press conference to clarify his position.

At the press conference held in the Supreme Court's main conference room that day, Justice Cho directly showed a printed copy of the article titled "'That person' appearing in the Jung Young-hak recording was a sitting Supreme Court Justice" (Hankook Ilbo, February 18) and refuted it as "completely unfounded."

Justice Cho expressed strong suspicion regarding the report. He said, "I wondered why such a suspicious article was suddenly reported just before the election concerning the Daejang-dong suspicion case, which is a subject of political debate," adding, "I do not know whether the true identity of 'that person' in Daejang-dong has been clarified or whether the suspicions have been resolved."

He also said, "Although such stories came up in the political sphere, I still intended to remain silent because it is a serious time ahead of the presidential election," but since the controversy did not subside, he said, "I thought it was right to clarify the matter in detail."

Justice Cho said, "The day before yesterday, during a nationally broadcast live debate, 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,' directly mentioning the name of a sitting Supreme Court Justice," adding, "To my knowledge, this is an unprecedented and extraordinary event."

Regarding any connection with Kim Man-bae, he strongly denied, saying, "I have never met Kim Man-bae publicly or privately, nor have I had any acquaintance or phone calls with him," and "Not only with Kim Man-bae but also with anyone related to the Daejang-dong case, I have had no acquaintance or phone calls."

Meanwhile, when asked about taking legal action, Justice Cho said, "For now, I can only say that it is under review."

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