Hyeon Geuntaek "If you memo the meeting, investigation records are attached, is it coercion?"

Lawyer Hyun Geun-taek, KBS Radio Interview
"Prosecutors Seem to Be Writing a Scenario to Request a Warrant for Lee"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Jeong Seong-ho, a key figure of the 'Lee Jae-myung faction' and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been embroiled in a so-called 'coercion controversy.' Hyun Geun-taek, vice president of the Democratic Research Institute (lawyer), stated, "If you take notes during an investigation visit, they are attached to the investigation records and used in the investigation, which is common knowledge in court," adding, "It is logically incomprehensible to coerce someone during this process."

Hyun, who is the lawyer for former vice president Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute, appeared on KBS Radio's Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current on the 15th and said, "General visits have partitions and are recorded, but in the case of 'location change visits,' recordings are not made, and notes are taken."

Jeong Seong-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is answering questions from reporters after holding a press conference on the morning of the 14th at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding remarks made during visits to Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief of Political Coordination at the Democratic Party Representative Office, and Kim Yong, former Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, who are detained in a detention center. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Earlier, following a report by JTBC revealing that Representative Jeong met with former vice president Kim, who is detained in a detention center, and former Democratic Party political coordination office chief Jeong Jin-sang, and made remarks such as "If this continues, Lee Jae-myung will become president" and "An alibi is important," suspicions arose that Representative Jeong attempted to coerce the two during the meetings.

Hyun explained, "It seems the prosecution selectively disclosed only parts of the statements that could cause problems, but I believe these are stories that can be reasonably told." He added, "Isn't it common sense that Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, has the highest approval rating in the next opinion poll? Discussing current affairs or political issues naturally includes such conversations."

Regarding the remark "An alibi is important," he said, "Everyone knows that an alibi is crucial in cases where innocence is claimed. An alibi means that I was not at the time and place the prosecution alleges, so I believe it is a perfectly reasonable statement."

Hyun also raised concerns about the timing of the report, noting that Representative Jeong met with former vice president Kim on December 9 last year and with former chief Jeong on January 18, and the report surfaced more than a month later.

Hyun stated, "The prosecution's biggest recent task is probably the warrant request for Lee Jae-myung. For a warrant to be issued, there must be clear evidence of criminal suspicion and concerns about evidence destruction or flight risk. Is the Seongnam FC case really bribery? In the Daejang-dong case, is the subject liable for breach of trust? There is controversy. The criminal suspicion is not clear."

He continued, "Who would think the opposition leader would flee? So, they have no choice but to emphasize the risk of evidence destruction, and it seems they are writing a scenario that attempts to destroy evidence through lawmakers close to Lee Jae-myung."

Hyun criticized, "Recently, the prosecution has been leaking articles and submitting those articles as evidence. There are many problems with this. Ultimately, prosecutors should speak through evidence and, if indicted, through the indictment, but it seems they are relying on media play."

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