Democratic Party Rep. Kim Yong-min Considering Defamation Lawsuit Against Lawyer Park Jun-young?… Accuses Hankyoreh Misinformation as 'Operation' Behind the Scenes

"'Yoon Seok-yeol Also Received Villa Hospitality' Hankyoreh False Report, Rep. Kim Yong-min Bears Responsibility"
Fact Check Not Possible Due to Yoon's Withdrawal of Lawsuit... "Please Sue Me"

Kim Yong-min, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Park Jun-young, a renowned retrial attorney (age 47, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 35), has pointed to Rep. Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won (age 44, class 36) as being behind the 2019 erroneous report by the Hankyoreh newspaper claiming that President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol was entertained at a villa by construction businessman Yoon Joong-chun. Both individuals had previously served as a key member of the Past Affairs Committee and as a member of the fact-finding investigation team, respectively, in connection with the former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui case.

Although the investigation was halted following Hankyoreh’s apology and President-elect Yoon’s withdrawal of the lawsuit, Attorney Park urged Rep. Kim to sue him, stating that if sued, he would be able to clarify the facts clearly. He also targeted Rep. Kim, saying, "If you have personal motives behind pushing the 'complete prosecution reform' bill, you should stop." Attention is focused on whether Rep. Kim will actually file a defamation suit against Attorney Park and request an investigation.

On October 11, 2019, Hankyoreh published an article on its front page titled <"Yoon Seok-yeol also entertained at villa" Prosecutors covered up 'Yoon Joong-chun’s testimony'>, reporting that "'Hankyoreh 21' interviewed more than three key insiders familiar with the so-called 'Kim Hak-ui sexual bribery case' reinvestigation process and found that the fact-finding investigation team, during its reinvestigation of the Kim Hak-ui case since late last year, reexamined Yoon’s phonebook, seized business cards, diaries, etc., obtained from the 2013 first investigation records secured from the prosecution and police, confirming the name 'Yoon Seok-yeol.' The investigation team summoned Yoon and obtained testimony that he had a friendship with former Prosecutor General Yoon. The team also received testimony that President Yoon was entertained multiple times at Yoon’s villa in Wonju, Gangwon Province," the report stated.

President-elect Yoon sued Hankyoreh, but the newspaper published an apology in May the following year titled "We apologize for inaccurate reporting."

At that time, Hankyoreh stated regarding the reports by Hankyoreh and Hankyoreh 21, "Words such as ‘multiple times’ and ‘entertainment’ that were not in the report were used in the article and headline, and by prominently reporting it as the front-page lead article and weekly magazine cover story, readers’ attention was focused on whether President Yoon was entertained multiple times at the villa. Several months after the report, Hankyoreh has not been able to produce follow-up reports based on evidence or testimony regarding the allegations of entertainment at President Yoon’s villa."

It further stated, "In light of the journalistic standards Hankyoreh adheres to, we judged this article to be insufficiently fact-checked and containing exaggerated expressions. We apologize to readers and President Yoon for the inaccurate reporting." Ultimately, President-elect Yoon withdrew the lawsuit.

Additionally, Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, whom Attorney Park identified alongside Rep. Kim as another figure behind Hankyoreh’s erroneous report, is currently facing trial after being investigated by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on charges of falsifying interview reports related to Yoon Joong-chun, leaking related information to the media, and other offenses (false official document creation, use of false official documents, official secrets leakage, obstruction of business).

On the morning of the 20th, Attorney Park posted a lengthy message titled "Sue Me" on his Facebook, saying, "I wrote a long post overnight with healthy debate in mind" and "I think it is time to bring up sensitive topics."

He recalled, "Last year, I publicized the former Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui case" and "During the publicization process, I mentioned the problems with Hankyoreh’s ‘Yoon Seok-yeol Prosecutor General villa sexual entertainment allegation erroneous report’ in this space."

Attorney Park said, "While I acknowledge that Hankyoreh’s report was problematic, I paid more attention to the fact that whistleblowers used a trusted progressive media outlet" and added, "The report mentions ‘three key insiders.’ Considering the timing and content, it is hard not to suspect political motives. No matter how much one dislikes the Prosecutor General, I was outraged that they tried to bring him down by linking him to the ‘villa sexual entertainment allegations’."

He expressed, "At first, I hoped the investigation would reveal the responsibility for this conspiracy in detail. But since Hankyoreh’s responsibility was at issue, I thought it might be better if it quietly settled."

He continued, "However, watching the process where it was framed as media suppression and President Yoon was pressured to withdraw the lawsuit, I could not help but think these people are shameless."

Attorney Park said, "Someone handed over internal documents and told a reporter falsehoods that the prosecution covered it up. The reporter verified this explosive fact through multiple sources" and added, "It is common sense to see that the front-page report by Hankyoreh came out because the erroneous report was agreed to or tacitly approved during the investigation process. Therefore, the whistleblowers and sources all bear significant responsibility."

Attorney Park pointed to Rep. Kim and Prosecutor Lee as those who agreed to or tacitly approved the erroneous report.

He said, "I believe the ‘three key insiders’ mentioned in the article include Rep. Kim Yong-min, a key member of the Past Affairs Committee related to the former Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui case, and Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, a member of the fact-finding investigation team."

Attorney Park noted, "I referred to Prosecutor Lee as the ‘prosecutor studying abroad’ as a possible source during the ‘Sisa Jaki Jung Kwan-yong’ broadcast" and said, "I understand Prosecutor Lee has stated on Facebook that he is unrelated to the Hankyoreh report. If his claim is true, then my previous expos? was problematic."

He then declared, "Today, I raise suspicion that Rep. Kim Yong-min cannot be free from responsibility for Hankyoreh’s erroneous villa sexual entertainment report."

Attorney Park said, "I do not know whether the two are whistleblowers or sources," but added, "As someone familiar with the investigation process of the former Vice Minister case, there are only a handful of people who could have provided internal documents as whistleblowers or sources."

He also said, "I met an excellent reporter who has won multiple journalism awards despite the erroneous report. I have also heard some stories."

At the end of the post, Attorney Park told Rep. Kim and Prosecutor Lee that if they feel wronged, they should sue him, and he would take responsibility.

He said, "This is a defamation case that cannot be further investigated due to the victim’s withdrawal of the lawsuit. However, if you sue me, I believe I can clearly reveal the facts. If you feel wronged, I will take responsibility."

He once again targeted Rep. Kim, who is leading the push for the ‘complete prosecution reform’ bill.

He concluded, "Rep. Kim Yong-min, if you have personal motives behind pushing the ‘complete prosecution reform’ bill, you should stop. In this grave situation where the criminal justice system could collapse, I believe this is what I can and must do. If you respond, I will prepare accordingly."

In a post titled "Original Intention" posted on his Facebook in the early hours of the previous day, Attorney Park introduced his past connection with Rep. Kim as fellow members of the Prosecution Reform Committee and appealed, "I ask Rep. Kim Yong-min to review the ‘Prosecution Reform Committee’s Position’ announced by Chairman Song Doo-hwan and the members. It contains the ‘original intention’."

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