Yunsim Exposed Through Private Messages... Politicians' Mobile Phone Privacy Embarrassment

Yoon-Kwon Seongdong, "Internal Criticism Party Leader" Text Controversy
Lawmakers Play Games in National Assembly, View Photos of Women Exposed
Past Incidents Also Captured by Reporters, Causing Multiple Controversies

On the 26th, during the government questioning session at the National Assembly plenary meeting, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, was having a text conversation with a person presumed to be President Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A Telegram message in which President Yoon Seok-yeol referred to Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, as a "party leader who only engaged in internal backstabbing" has been revealed, causing a stir. This message was captured by media cameras on the 26th in the National Assembly plenary session hall during the government questioning session, as Kwon Seong-dong, acting party leader and floor leader, was texting with President Yoon.

President Yoon had so far avoided directly addressing the conflict between Lee and the so-called 'Yoon Core Group' (key associates of President Yoon Seok-yeol). Regarding Lee’s six-month suspension of party membership due to allegations of sexual bribery on the 8th, President Yoon only stated at a brief press conference on his way to work, "It is not appropriate for the president to comment on party affairs," adding, "As a member of the People Power Party, I find it regrettable." However, with the revelation of President Yoon’s true feelings of discomfort toward Lee, internal conflicts within the ruling party are expected to intensify.

In September 2020, at the National Assembly plenary session, Yoon Young-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, sent a text message asking to "strongly protest to Kakao" regarding news about Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, published on a portal site, sparking a controversy over 'portal site pressure.' / Yonhap News

There have been several previous occasions when politicians’ cellphone screens were caught by media cameras, sparking controversy. Especially in the National Assembly plenary session hall, where dozens of cameras and reporters closely monitor every move of lawmakers, private text messages on cellphones are frequently exposed.

In September 2020, during the National Assembly plenary session, when an article about then People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young’s party representative speech appeared as the main article on the portal site Daum, Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Young-chan was caught sending text messages saying, "Please strongly protest to Kakao," "Kakao is too much. Tell them to come in," sparking a 'portal site pressure' controversy. The People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "Have you been trying to control public opinion through portal sites all this time?" Lawmaker Yoon apologized, saying, "I questioned the fairness of portal exposure during the party leaders’ speeches" and "I did not use appropriate language."

In the 20th National Assembly, in September 2019, independent lawmaker Cheon Jeong-bae caused controversy when a text message he sent to his daughter, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary, saying, "If you have any close staff, let me know and I will go help," was revealed during a Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee (FAUC) full meeting. At the time, with the national audit approaching, Cheon, a member of the FAUC, was interpreted as offering to help if his daughter had close staff, raising suspicions of favoritism. Cheon’s side explained, "It was intended to ask my daughter to introduce acquaintances to hear the difficulties of junior officials."

Additionally, Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Hoon-sik was caught playing games on his cellphone twice during national audits in 2020, and 2017, and in 2013, Shim Jae-cheol, then a Saenuri Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) Supreme Council member, was embarrassed when he was seen viewing nude photos of a woman during a National Assembly plenary session.

Kang Hoon-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was captured playing a game on his mobile phone during the audit of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Venture Business Committee held at the National Assembly on October 22, 2020. Photo by Yonhap News.

Kwon Seong-dong, acting party leader, was also caught viewing photos of women in bikinis during a 2014 Ministry of Employment and Labor audit by the Environment and Labor Committee when he was a Saenuri Party lawmaker, which caused controversy. This has intensified criticism over the recent exposure of text messages between him and President Yoon.

The Democratic Party is launching fierce attacks, suggesting that "President Yoon was leading the People Power Party’s internal power struggle." Spokesperson Jo Oh-seop said in a written briefing, "The content of the text messages exchanged between President Yoon and Acting Leader Kwon is pathetic itself," and criticized, "Was President Yoon’s statement that he would not interfere in party affairs just empty words?"

He added, "In a situation where every second counts to take care of people’s livelihoods, the two acting as if they are making a secret pact to seize party power is outrageous," and "We hope President Yoon clearly states whether he was involved in the disciplinary action against Lee Jun-seok."

Meanwhile, Acting Leader Kwon apologized on Facebook immediately after the text messages were made public, saying, "It is entirely my fault that private conversations with the president were exposed due to carelessness, causing misunderstandings," and "I apologize for causing concern to party members and the public regardless of the reason."

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