Democratic Party: "President Yoon Reported to Prosecutors for False Information Aimed at Election Victory" (Comprehensive)

"Claims that Kim Geon-hee's statements on stock investment constitute false information aimed at election victory"
Investigation possible only after 5 years as a political symbol
In addition to President Yoon, Rep. Lee Yang-su and Senior Administrative Officer Choi Ji-hyun also reported

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Democratic Party of Korea filed a complaint with the prosecution on the 5th against President Yoon Seok-yeol for allegedly spreading false information during the presidential election period. Since President Yoon is the incumbent president, this carries the meaning of a 'political symbol.'

Park Seong-jun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated in a briefing held after the Democratic Party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the same day, "We have decided to submit a complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at 1 p.m. against President Yoon for violating the Public Official Election Act and spreading false information." Initially, Park had indicated that the complaint would be filed with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, but later corrected it to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Park explained, "There was a question regarding allegations of stock price manipulation related to the president's wife during his candidacy, which he denied. However, it has now become clear that the stock price manipulation was a fact, and the candidate's statement at the time constitutes the dissemination of false information."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Seung-won, a member of the Democratic Party and head of the legal committee, said, "The exact charge is the dissemination of false information for the purpose of election," adding, "It is a serious crime with a minimum fine of 5 million won and could lead to disqualification from office." Kim stated, "During his candidacy, President Yoon's wife, Kim Geon-hee, entrusted all transactions related to stock price manipulation to a Mr. Lee, a former employee of a foreign securities company, and only experienced losses over four months. She claimed to have severed ties with Mr. Lee on May 20. However, through recordings of Kim Geon-hee revealed during the co-conspirator's trial, it was confirmed that on the first day of the stock price manipulation, Kim Geon-hee directly instructed to buy stocks and that there was evidence she received reports from securities company employees in the middle of the process."

According to the press release issued by the Democratic Party on the same day, during a TV debate on October 15 last year, when Yoon was a candidate in the People Power Party's presidential primary, he explained, "Regarding Mr. Lee, who was indicted for stock price manipulation, (he) entrusted him for about four months, but there were losses, and (omitted) due to the losses, my wife decided it was no longer acceptable, withdrew the money, and severed ties with that person." Furthermore, in response to demands to disclose the account, he revealed the securities account under his spouse's name, stating that only the first seven days of the entire four-month entrusted trading period involved stock trading through entrusted management. However, Kim Geon-hee herself placed direct stock purchase orders on the first day of trading Deutsche Motors stocks and approved Mr. Lee's purchase orders by phone to the securities company the following day.

However, this complaint carries a political symbolic meaning. Park said, "The statute of limitations for the president is suspended, so even if a complaint is filed, an investigation can only be conducted five years later," but added, "We are also considering filing complaints against related parties." Kim said, "According to Supreme Court precedents, the statute of limitations resumes after the president leaves office, so punishment can be imposed at any time. The complaint was filed before the statute of limitations for the election law expires on the 9th."

In addition, the Democratic Party plans to file complaints against Lee Yang-su, who served as spokesperson for the People Power Party's election campaign committee, and Choi Ji-hyun, senior administrative officer at the Presidential Office's Legal Secretary Office. The Democratic Party explained, "They previously wrote comments denying that Kim Geon-hee manipulated stock prices," adding, "With the discovery of new recordings of Kim Geon-hee, there is a possibility that this could also be applied as the crime of spreading false information, so these two individuals were additionally reported."

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