Shin Hak-rim, Investigated for 14 Hours and Released... When Asked About 'Democratic Party Backing' Possibility, Responds "Zero"

Former Media Union Chairman Shin Hak-rim, who is accused of receiving hundreds of millions of won in bribes from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, in exchange for a 'false interview,' underwent a 14-hour investigation by prosecutors and returned home in the early hours of the 8th.

When asked whether the Democratic Party was behind the interview, Shin answered "zero."

Former Press Union Chairman Shin Hak-rim is heading to the interrogation room at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu on the morning of the 7th.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) summoned Shin at 10 a.m. the previous day as a suspect on charges of breach of trust and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and conducted an investigation.

The prosecutors reportedly focused on questioning Shin about the circumstances under which he received a large sum of money from Kim under the pretext of book payment, and why the interview, conducted more than six months earlier, was reported through Newstapa right before the presidential election. They also appear to have checked whether Shin was aware that Kim's statements during the interview contained false information.

After finishing the investigation shortly past midnight, Shin responded to the question, "Have you ever received a request from the Democratic Party regarding the interview?" by saying, "I think you are imagining and asking that." When asked again about the possibility, he answered "zero."

Regarding his involvement in Newstapa's reporting process, Shin said, "I have never exerted influence or participated in the editorial decisions." However, he admitted that Newstapa asked for his opinion on selecting a few parts from the vast amount of recorded files.

When asked why he recorded conversations without Kim's knowledge, he replied, "It was to accurately document the difficult issue of real estate development." He also said, "It is certainly something I should apologize to Kim for."

When questioned about why the contract date on the contract with Kim was recorded as March 2021, six months earlier than when the purchase payment was made, Shin said, "I don't know the reason, but Kim suggested it, so I did it without asking why."

Regarding Kim's claim that he bought the rights to his book, Shin said, "I never said I sold the rights," and added, "Since the contract is only one page, Kim might not remember."

About the circumstances under which he received 165 million won as book payment, he said, "It is a database (DB) in the form of a book," and "It is a database that can be used infinitely if processed."

He continued, "I should receive more than 150 million won (from others as well)," and said, "Considering the circumstances, the price can be lowered, but in principle, I should receive more than 150 million won."

When asked if meeting Kim during the interview was the first time in 15 to 20 years, Shin said, "I think it was a long time." Regarding media reports that he visited Kim's Hwacheon Daeyu office in the summer of 2021 before the interview, contrary to his claim, he replied, "Maybe a ghost went."

Shin is accused of receiving 165 million won from Kim in September 2021 after conducting an interview containing false claims that then-People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl had covered up the Busan Savings Bank investigation, and requesting that it be reported right before the presidential election.

Shin conducted the interview with Kim on September 15, 2021, and handed over the recording file to Newstapa on March 4 last year, five days before the presidential election. Newstapa edited and reported the interview under the title <[Kim Man-bae Voice File] "Resolved Busan Savings Bank Case through Park Young-soo and Yoon Seok-youl"> on the evening of March 6, three days before the election.

The report included content that Yoon Seok-youl, then a leading opposition candidate, had conducted a lenient investigation toward loan broker Jo Woo-hyung during the Busan Savings Bank case investigation when he was a prosecutor, and that Lee Jae-myung, the ruling party candidate, was unrelated to the Daejang-dong corruption.

Immediately after the report, then-candidate Lee Jae-myung shared the Newstapa report link on his SNS, writing, "Please widely share this. This vivid reality of shamelessness and impudence," and during a TV debate, he pressed candidate Yoon by asking, "Why did you make coffee for Jo Woo-hyung?"

Additionally, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh, OhmyNews, and others successively cited Newstapa's report, and MBC, KBS, JTBC, and others followed up with further reports, rapidly spreading the news. Newstapa and JTBC have partially admitted and apologized for problems in the verification process of the report at that time.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office formed a 'Special Investigation Team for the Presidential Election Interference and Public Opinion Manipulation Case' centered on prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 on the same day. In addition to prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3, prosecutors specializing in election and defamation cases from the Public Investigation Division and Criminal Division 1 were also deployed to the special investigation team.

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