Park Beom-gye, "Did not know identity and did not leave opinion" on 'Participation in Lee's Chat Room' (Comprehensive)

Park Beom-gye, "Invited to Lee's Chatroom Without Any Intent or Relationship"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 25th, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, responded regarding his inclusion in the 'group chat room' used for election campaigning by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, saying, "I did not know the identity of the room, nor who was in it, and I did not leave any opinions."

At the National Assembly Judiciary Committee's current issues inquiry on the same day, Park said in response to a related question from Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party, "I was invited without my will or consent."

When asked about the timing of the invitation, he said, "I do not remember (being invited) and never paid attention to it, so I cannot specifically answer what you are referring to." He added, "After hearing that there was media coverage, I checked and left the room," and clarified, "There was nothing suspicious. I never wrote or forwarded any messages."

In response to the question, "Why did you not leave immediately?" he said, "Such incidents have occurred more than two or three times in Telegram rooms and more than 20 times in KakaoTalk rooms," adding, "Even this morning, I was invited to a room with 56 members."

Regarding criticism that the investigation into Deutsche Motors is not being properly conducted, Minister Park stated, "Chairman Kwon Oh-soo has already been arrested and indicted in the Deutsche Motors case," and expressed his view that "I believe significant progress has been made," indicating he does not agree with the criticism that the prosecution's investigation is insufficient.

Concerning the recorded conversations related to the Daejang-dong development corruption allegations, he explained, "So far, the basis for judicial processing of any preferential treatment or lobbying related to Daejang-dong is the Daejang-dong recordings."

Minister Park said, "Whether on this side or that side, investigations and judicial processing regarding preferential treatment and lobbying based on the recordings related to the Daejang-dong case have been conducted in a balanced manner, so such content cannot be concealed," adding, "Therefore, investigative agencies must thoroughly uncover the truth." When asked if there are plans to transfer the prosecution's alleged 'lenient investigation' suspicions to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), he replied, "There are no plans to consider that at this time."

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