Presidential Office: "Complete List of Inauguration Ceremony Destroyed... Only Official Invitation Dispatch Document Remains"

Presidential Office Official: "Invitation List Is Personal Information and Must Be Destroyed After the Event"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Presidential Office reiterated on the 28th that the entire guest list for President Yoon Seok-yeol's inauguration ceremony, which has been criticized for including controversial figures, has been destroyed amid suspicions that the list still exists.

A Presidential Office official told reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon, "The guest list contains personal information and is supposed to be destroyed after fulfilling its purpose (holding the inauguration ceremony)," adding, "There is no complete list of the approximately 45,000 invitees."

Earlier, Chief Presidential Secretary Kim Dae-gi appeared before the National Assembly's Steering Committee on the 23rd and stated that although he tried to verify the guest list, the Inauguration Preparation Committee destroyed it citing personal information concerns. However, after reports emerged that while the final compiled list was destroyed, a list submitted to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety remained, the Presidential Office issued a clarification.

Regarding the existence of some remaining lists, the official explained, "By convention, former high-ranking officials from the five branches of government, heads of institutions, and major organization leaders who always attend the inauguration must have addresses for invitation letters to be sent, so official documents may have been exchanged," adding, "There may also be lists requesting invitations."

The official gave a specific example, saying, "This does not mean such an event actually occurred, but for instance, the Ministry of Science and ICT could have submitted an official letter requesting the invitation of 100 scientists. This (official letter) could remain as a public record," emphasizing, "However, whether all 100 were invited is unknown because the entire list was destroyed."

He continued, "Some media outlets reported that lists from past presidential inaugurations exist, but based on our verification, they do not," stressing, "Most of the lists are public records of invitees from public institutions and party invitations, and we have not confirmed the existence of a complete list."

Previously, Democratic Party lawmakers on the Steering Committee launched an offensive, claiming that the guest list for former President Lee Myung-bak's inauguration remains as presidential records.

President Yoon's inauguration ceremony has faced criticism from the ruling party as it was reported that far-right YouTubers, the son of the former chairman of Deutsche Motors involved in stock manipulation allegations against First Lady Kim Geon-hee, and the head of the presidential residence construction company were invited.

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