Prosecutors Investigate Complainant in Park Beom-gye Case Over Participation in Lee Jae-myung's Campaign Team Group Chat

Lee Jong-bae, Representative of the Rule of Law Restoration Action Alliance.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The prosecution investigated the accuser in the case involving Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, who was reported for participating in a group chat room for election campaigning of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

On the 28th, the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office conducted an investigation of Lee Jong-bae, the representative of the Action Alliance for Restoring the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), who filed a complaint against Minister Park for violating the Public Official Election Act and the National Public Service Act.

After completing the accuser investigation for about an hour starting at 2:20 p.m., Lee stated, "Minister Park claims he did not participate in the group chat room activities, but since he was invited and did not immediately leave, he influenced about 3,000 members in the group chat room by virtue of his ministerial position."

Minister Park was revealed through the media to be included in a Telegram group chat room operated by the Democratic Party’s special advisory group for election campaigns, despite being a current public official prohibited from election campaigning, raising allegations of election law violations.

The group chat room, created during last year’s Democratic Party presidential primary, reportedly included about 3,000 participants such as current and former members of the National Assembly and Lee’s special advisors, and was operated to support Lee’s election campaign.

Beopse-ryeon filed a complaint against Minister Park at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 2nd for violating the Public Official Election Act and the National Public Service Act. However, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office transferred the case to the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, where the Criminal Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Oh Ki-chan) is currently investigating.

In a press release issued before appearing at the prosecution on the day, Lee said, "It has been confirmed that Minister Park participated in the Telegram group chat room '[Communication Room] Lee Jae-myung Candidate General Special Advisory Group' for election campaigning of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate in the last presidential election. Therefore, on the 2nd, we filed a criminal complaint against Minister Park for violating Article 85 of the Public Official Election Act, 'Prohibition of Election Involvement by Public Officials,' and Article 65 of the National Public Service Act, 'Prohibition of Political Activities,' and he is being investigated as an accuser on the 28th."

He added, "The fact that the Minister of Justice belongs to a group for a specific presidential candidate’s election campaign not only undermines the fairness and neutrality of the election, constituting a national disgrace, but also directly or indirectly influences the election, clearly violating the Public Official Election Act and the National Public Service Act."

He also emphasized, "Minister Park excuses himself by saying, 'I did not know the nature of the room, nor who was in it, and I did not leave any opinions,' but just by looking at the name of the invited room, one can understand its nature. Since promotional materials for candidate Lee Jae-myung were frequently posted there, and Minister Park did not immediately leave but participated for several months, it can only be seen as using his position to help candidate Lee."

He continued, "The Minister of Justice, who should strictly manage elections, participating in a specific candidate’s election campaign room is an unacceptable case of election manipulation and an anti-democratic election crime that undermines election fairness. Therefore, we urge that Minister Park be severely punished to prevent illegal election interference by the Minister of Justice in the future and to establish election fairness."

Minister Park previously explained on the 25th of last month at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee in response to opposition lawmakers’ questions, saying, "I was invited without my will," and "I did not know the nature of the room, who was in it, nor did I leave any opinions."

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