Kim Byung-min: "It's Hard to Believe Kim Man-bae Acted Alone in the False Interview"

Interview with 최고위원 on MBC Radio
"Political gains from the interview belong to the Democratic Party... Suspicions are natural"

Kim Byung-min, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, emphasized on the 8th regarding the false interview allegations involving Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, a private contractor in the Daejang-dong project, that "This is a serious crime that infringes on the people's right to choose, based on fake news and public opinion manipulation carried out ahead of the presidential election," and added, "It must be thoroughly eradicated from the root."

On the same day, in an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Kim made these remarks about the recorded conversation between Kim and Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Media Union and a specialist at the online media outlet 'Newstapa,' which Newstapa released the day before.

The recording was made on September 15, 2021, when Kim met with Shin, who was then a specialist at Newstapa. When Newstapa first reported it on March 6 last year, three days before the presidential election, only parts of the recording were excerpted and released. Kim is accused of conspiring with Shin to conduct a false interview claiming that President Yoon Seok-yeol covered up the investigation into the Busan Savings Bank case related to the Daejang-dong project.

Kim Byung-min, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Regarding this, Supreme Council Member Kim stated, "If Newstapa has made mistakes, they should humbly bow their heads to the public and apologize," and criticized, "While apologizing for the financial transactions with Shin Hak-rim, they consistently defend themselves by claiming it is not false reporting."

He continued, "Due to Newstapa's patchwork and distorted reporting, it escalated into a serious election crime aimed at shaking the presidential election, and the key figures of the Democratic Party at the time danced in tandem like a three-legged race. Therefore, strict measures and a clear apology for the wrongdoings are necessary."

Currently, the People Power Party claims that the Democratic Party is behind the false interview allegations. Supreme Council Member Kim said, "When asked why we mention the connection with the Democratic Party, I will summarize it with one statement from Kim Man-bae saying he 'was on the same boat as Representative Lee Jae-myung.'"

Kim added, "Since the report was released, briefings from the Democratic Party have started pouring out. Almost like they were mass-produced in a factory, comments and briefings flooded in," and argued, "The Democratic Party fully benefits politically by shifting all suspicions onto presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol. It is very natural that suspicions arise."

When the host pointed out, "It is common to mention reports favorable to one's own party, so it is difficult to see this as circumstantial evidence of a behind-the-scenes conspiracy," Kim responded, "It is hard to believe that all this was simply planned by Kim Man-bae alone with the Daejang-dong gang," and added, "The rest should be revealed through investigation."

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