Prosecutors on Song Young-gil's 'Tablet PC Manipulation Allegation': "Baseless Remarks Not Worth Responding To"

The prosecution has rebutted former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil's claim that evidence in the investigation of the Democratic Party's '2021 Party Convention Money Envelope Suspicion' was fabricated, calling it "absurd slander."

A Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office official said on the 22nd, "Honestly, from the investigation team's perspective, we don't think it's worth responding," but added strongly, "Former leader Song's remarks seem to increasingly distort facts and make baseless claims."

Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil, who is under suspicion of money envelope allegations related to the party convention, is making a statement after leaving the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, without being questioned. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Former leader Song appeared on CBS Radio the previous day and referred to the claim by Byun Hee-jae that Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon manipulated the tablet PC during the investigation of former President Park Geun-hye, asserting that the prosecution is also fabricating evidence in the money envelope investigation.

In response, a prosecution official pointed out, "In the case of the JTBC tablet PC, it was confirmed during the National Pension Scandal trial that there was 'no evidence fabrication,'" adding, "Those who claimed evidence fabrication have been sentenced to prison in the first trial and are currently undergoing appeals."

He continued, "Jang Si-ho's tablet PC was not an issue during the trial and was not used as key evidence," and said, "Nevertheless, those who continue to claim evidence fabrication are even protesting at SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's residence, alleging that the SK Telecom subscription application related to the tablet PC was fabricated."

He also said, "Former leader Song's mention of such absurd false claims and accusations that the prosecution is fabricating evidence is slandering and criticizing the investigation team without any basis, which is practically slanderous language."

The prosecution is considering securing the custody of Park Yong-soo, a former aide to former leader Song and a key figure in the money envelope suspicion. Park strongly denied allegations of illegal campaign funds during his interrogation the previous day.

A prosecution official said, "We will comprehensively review the investigation results and other circumstances and decide soon whether to request an arrest warrant."

Regarding Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's statement on 'waiving immunity from arrest,' the official evaluated, "Basically, if it means he will attend the pre-arrest suspect interrogation on the same footing as ordinary citizens, it is meaningful."

However, he added, "Since immunity from arrest cannot be waived by an individual, we need to see how things will proceed," and said, "The Baekhyeon-dong investigation team will conduct necessary investigations sequentially without targeting any specific individual."

Meanwhile, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, who visited the Korea Exchange in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the same day, also strongly rebutted former leader Song's claims, saying, "This is something that cannot be tolerated." Lee said, "I was both regretful and somewhat surprised that a person who once served as the Democratic Party leader would make claims aligned with Choi Seo-won's (formerly Choi Soon-sil) assertion that the tablet PC was fabricated."

He added, "Regardless of any claims, it is unimaginable that the prosecution would fabricate evidence, and such acts cannot be allowed in the face of history," emphasizing, "The court has already recognized the evidentiary value sufficiently, ruling guilty a long time ago."

Prosecutor General Lee served as the head prosecutor of the Special 1st Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during the National Pension Scandal investigation, overseeing the investigation and trial.

[Rebuttal Report]
Prosecution: Song Young-gil's Mention of 'Tablet PC Fabrication Theory' Is "Slander Not Worth Responding To"〉 Related to the Article

This newspaper reported on June 22, 2023, in the article titled that, regarding former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil's remarks citing Byun Hee-jae, Media Watch representative advisor, who claimed that the tablet that triggered the National Pension Scandal was fabricated by the prosecution, the prosecution general and related officials rebutted that the fabrication claims related to the tablet are false or unfounded.

However, regarding this report, Advisor Byun stated, "The prosecution's claims exceeded the scope of the court's judgment or did not reflect the specific litigation progress and content," and informed, "Although it was said that evidence fabrication was confirmed not to exist by the court, the prosecution's tablet fabrication issue was not a point of contention in my criminal trial's first instance or related trials, so it has not been judged by the court so far."

Advisor Byun also claimed, "While the prosecution calls the tablet fabrication claim a 'rumor,' the claim is supported by scientific forensic examination results and testimonies."

Furthermore, Advisor Byun asserted, "The prosecution official said that the claim of fabrication of the SK Telecom subscription contract related to Choi Soon-sil's tablet is baseless, but whether the contract was fabricated is currently disputed in related litigation."

This report is pursuant to the mediation of the Press Arbitration Commission.

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