The Central District Prosecutors' Office Forms Special Investigation Team for 'Presidential Election Interference and Public Opinion Manipulation Case'... Over 10 Prosecutors Deployed

The prosecution has formed a special investigation team to focus on the allegations of a 'false interview' involving Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management.

Seoul Seocho-gu Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced the formation of a 'Special Investigation Team for the Presidential Election Interference and Public Opinion Manipulation Case.'

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will lead the team. The team consists of about 10 prosecutors, mainly from the Anti-Corruption Division 3, along with prosecutors from the Public Investigation Division and Criminal Division 1, who have expertise in election and defamation cases.

The prosecution stated, "This is a serious case that undermined the election system, the foundation of democracy under the Constitution, by publishing false information about a leading candidate just before the presidential election, followed by false reports and related accusations, thereby attempting to distort public opinion. We will investigate swiftly and strictly to uncover the full truth."

The prosecution suspects that Shin Hak-rim, a former NewsTapa expert and former chairman of the Media Union, conspired with Kim in September 2021 to conduct an interview containing unfavorable content about President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was then a presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and that this interview was broadcast through NewsTapa on March 6 last year, three days before the presidential election, for which Shin received 165 million won as compensation.

The prosecution believes that this interview was an intentional 'fake news' aimed at shifting the focus of the Daejang-dong scandal from Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (then Governor of Gyeonggi Province) and President Yoon's competitor, to President Yoon. They plan to conduct a broad investigation not only into the circumstances and compensation related to the interview between Kim and Shin but also into whether there were any 'behind-the-scenes forces' involved.

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