Reason for 'LGBTQ+ Dating App' Installed on Kim Nam-guk's Phone... Explained as "Part of Scam Phishing Investigation"

"내 폰은 사실상 '의원실 공용 폰'" Posted on Community

Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is checking his mobile phone at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's non-metropolitan district court, high court, district prosecutor's office, and high prosecutor's office audit held at Daejeon High Court on the 14th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] During a National Assembly inspection, Representative Kim Namguk was photographed by the media with a notification from a LGBTQ+ dating app appearing on his mobile phone. Regarding this, Rep. Kim explained that he had installed the app on his phone to investigate the actual conditions related to scam phishing.

On the 14th, at the Daejeon High Court during the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's non-metropolitan court National Assembly inspection, Rep. Kim was seen searching his own name and checking related articles.

What drew attention was the app notification icon shaped like the letter 'J' at the top of Rep. Kim's phone. There were claims that this icon resembled a notification from the LGBTQ+ dating app 'Jack'd.' Some expressed concerns that Rep. Kim's sexual identity might have been involuntarily exposed. Since Rep. Kim did not immediately issue a statement regarding the app usage, speculative discussions circulated on online communities.

Two days after the app usage became known, on the afternoon of the 16th, Rep. Kim posted a statement through the Democratic Party gallery on DC Inside. He said, "It seems the community has been noisy since yesterday. I spent the entire weekend on regional activities and preparing for the inspection meetings, so I only explained to a few people who contacted me separately, and now I am leaving a post on the board."

He continued, "The app was installed on my phone and the aides' phones during the preparation stage for the inspection to investigate the recent issues related to scam phishing. On September 10, I also requested data on the status and statistics of related crimes. However, there were no separate statistics specifically distinguishing scam crimes using the app, and it was difficult to collect concrete actual damage cases, so the matter did not proceed further as a subject of the National Assembly inspection. After that, I did not take any separate action to delete the app."

He added, "My phone is frequently entrusted to aides for purposes such as legislative reports and organizing civil complaints, so it is practically a 'shared phone' of the office. I share everything including Google accounts and Facebook with my aides," and said, "If I had something to hide, I would have used a privacy protection film or never fully shared my phone and accounts with my aides."

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