Handonghun: "There is an on-site recording file of Noh Ungrae's solicitation... definite evidence"

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is explaining the reason for the request to consent to the arrest of Democratic Party lawmaker Noh Woong-rae during the National Assembly plenary session on the afternoon of the 28th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the 28th, Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, appealed for the necessity of approval before the vote on the arrest consent bill for No Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, at the National Assembly plenary session, saying, "If the charges are serious and the evidence is sufficient, I believe that making decisions solely based on the common sense and standards of the people, rather than blind factional logic or party profit and loss calculations, is becoming a new tradition of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea." He added, "The people of the Republic of Korea will watch and remember today's decision."

Minister Han summarized before the members of the National Assembly awaiting the vote, "I think you will consider two things when deciding whether to consent to the arrest of a colleague: first, whether the evidence is clear, and second, whether the crime is serious enough to warrant the arrest of a member of the National Assembly."

Regarding whether the evidence is clear, he emphasized, "There is a recording file capturing the exact scene where Representative No received a bribe after a request was made." He added, "The voice of Representative No saying, 'You gave it last time, why again?' and 'I have been using that well,' as well as the sound of the money envelope rustling, are all recorded."

He continued, "In my more than 20 years of handling major anti-corruption investigations, I have never seen a case where the scene of exchanging illicit money was recorded so vividly."

Furthermore, he said, "There are also text messages from Representative No saying, 'I will use it valuably, thank you, I will repay with empathetic politics,' a phone call recording where Representative No says, 'You helped last time, so I did well, are you helping again?', text messages asking for more specific details of the request, Representative No’s handwritten notes on the request, the work notebook of the legislative aide, and even records of inquiries and responses using the National Assembly’s official system to public institutions to fulfill the request."

Regarding whether the charges are serious enough to require arrest, he pointed out, "Representative No abused his authority, which should be used only for the people as a public servant, by receiving 60 million won in bribes and illegal political funds from a broker. Not only did he receive illegal funds, but he actively tried to fulfill the broker’s requests, even using the legislative aide organization in the process." He criticized, "Despite the recording of the scene where he receives money in his own voice, he is conducting a false public opinion campaign claiming the investigation agency fabricated the evidence."

He also emphasized, "Members of the National Assembly represent the people, and all of you, representing the reasonable public, would naturally think that even a member of the National Assembly should be arrested if there are such serious criminal charges and such clear evidence."

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