Handonghun "I Will Stake My Minister Position" vs Democratic Party "Set an iPhone Password"

Minister Han Dong-hoon vs Opposition Party in Daily Dispute Over 'Cheongdam-dong Drinking Party Allegation'
Minister Han Announces Legal Action Against Rep. Kim Eui-gyeom and The Tam Sa, etc.

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is attending the National Assembly's audit on the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Government Legislation, and the Board of Audit and Inspection held on the 24th, responding to lawmakers' questions. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Lee Kyung, the full-time deputy spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, who vowed to stake his position over the so-called 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party allegations,' saying, "Try locking your iPhone with a password."

On the 25th, Lee posted on his Facebook, "Minister Han said he would stake everything, including his ministerial position, and showed an agitated response to the lawmaker who questioned the 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party allegations,' saying, 'Lawmaker, what would you stake?' Looking at Minister Han's attitude and reaction, it is comparable to the prosecution's behavior of conducting searches based solely on a criminal's testimony," he criticized.

Lee further stated, "It is the right and choice of lawmakers to question when there is a whistleblower's testimony," and added, "If it is not true, calmly explaining it would suffice, but the highly agitated voice and the statement 'What should I stake?' contradict Minister Han's usual response attitude." He continued, "If you want to stake something so much with a raised voice and anger, I suggest you stake the iPhone password you have hidden for two years," he criticized.

The suggestion to lock the iPhone password relates to the so-called 'Channel A incident.' During the investigation of the Channel A incident, the prosecution tried to unlock Minister Han's phone password to check whether there was collusion between former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae and Minister Han.

However, since the first attempt at digital forensics in June 2020, the prosecution failed to verify internal information for 22 months. They tried again in July last year but could not unlock the phone. Eventually, the prosecution judged that further attempts to unlock the phone were ineffective and reportedly returned Minister Han's phone.

Kim Eui-gyeom, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving a briefing on the prosecution's search and seizure in front of the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News

"Lawmaker, what would you stake?" vs. "I will not avoid legal responsibility"

On the 25th, Minister Han announced legal actions against Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom, 'The TamSa,' and related parties. Lawmaker Kim stated that if legal responsibility is imposed for asking whether the tip-off was true, he would not avoid it.

On the same day, Minister Han said in the afternoon, "Regarding the statement made today by Democratic Party spokesperson Kim Eui-gyeom, I will hold 'The TamSa and related parties,' who spread clear false information via YouTube and others, and 'Kim Eui-gyeom, Democratic Party spokesperson,' who admitted to 'collaborating' with them, legally accountable both criminally and civilly."

At the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's comprehensive audit the previous day, Lawmaker Kim stated that "Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon held a drinking party on July 19 with about 30 Kim & Chang lawyers at a high-end bar in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, with President Yoon." In response, Minister Han raised his voice, saying, "I will stake everything, including the position of Minister of Justice. Lawmaker, what would you stake?"

Later, Lawmaker Kim issued a statement saying, "There is a vivid eyewitness account who directly witnessed the drinking party, and the person identified as the organizer repeatedly admitted the facts," adding, "I only disclosed those statements as they were." He continued, "If true, it would constitute a tremendous disruption of state affairs. Verification was necessary," and "The most certain way is to ask the person directly. That is what the audit is for."

Lawmaker Kim said, "Minister Han immediately said he would stake his ministerial position and turned the audit into a gambling den," adding, "I have no intention of getting involved in threats that only street thugs would make. However, I want to make it clear that I have already staked everything since I started politics." He emphasized, "This time is no different. If legal responsibility is imposed for asking 'Is it true?' I will not avoid it," and "I will also stand firm and fight. And I will continue to verify whether the tip-off is accurate."

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