"Made Up Bad Words"... Jang Siho Apologized Six Months Ago to Prosecutor Suspected of Coercion

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-cheol Reveals Jang Si-ho's Apology Text on the 13th
"Pretended to be in daily contact... Sorry"

It was belatedly revealed that Jang Si-ho, the niece of Choi Seo-won, directly contacted a current prosecutor suspected of having tried to persuade her during the investigation of the state affairs manipulation scandal six months ago and apologized, saying, "I fabricated too big lies and bad words."

Kim Young-chul, head of the Anti-Corruption Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the prosecutor accused of attempting persuasion, disclosed a KakaoTalk message sent by Jang in November last year to the media on the 13th. Around the time some media outlets began investigating the allegations, Jang confessed to Kim that she had lied and asked for forgiveness.

KakaoTalk message sent by Jang Si-ho to Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-chul.
[Image provided by Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-chul · Yonhap News]

In the message, Jang said, "I fabricated too big lies and very bad words to show off that I have someone looking after me behind my back and to be recognized, so I told acquaintances that you, prosecutor, called and met me every day," and added, "I bow my head and apologize."

The suspicion came to light after Jang's acquaintance, A, leaked a recorded conversation with Jang from 2020 to the media. The leak contained content where Jang boasted to A as if she had a private relationship with Prosecutor Kim.

Regarding the conversation, Jang said, "I pretended to be in daily contact with the chief prosecutor," and "I exaggerated everything, and the lies grew like a balloon and burst." She continued, "The former friend who recorded it probably believed it was true," and self-reproached, saying, "Just as I once showed off my connection with former Vice Minister Kim Jong of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, I think I lived without reflection or change even after being released from prison."

Choi Seo-won's niece, Jang Si-ho. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Jang, the niece of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), is a suspect and key witness in the state affairs manipulation case, testifying about various corruptions of Choi and the involvement of Samsung Group at hearings and trials.

Earlier, the YouTube channel 'Newtamsa' and Media Watch obtained the recorded conversations between Jang and A and raised the allegations on the 6th. The content claimed that Prosecutor Kim tried to persuade Jang or coached her testimony and that they had a private relationship. In response, Prosecutor Kim issued a statement on the 8th, saying, "The report is baseless and false with no value." He further denied, "I have never met her outside, never contacted her for reasons unrelated to the case, and have never acted in any way that could cause misunderstandings." Subsequently, on the 10th, Prosecutor Kim filed a complaint with the police against Newtamsa reporter Kang Jin-gu and Media Watch representative Byeon Hee-jae and filed a lawsuit claiming 300 million won in damages.

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