Choi Seowon: "Compared to Myeong Taegyun, I'm about 10%... What exactly did I do?"

An Min-seok Attends Defamation Trial
Mentions Myeong Tae-gyun When Asked About Solicitation During Park Geun-hye Era
"Please Eradicate Politicians Spreading Fake News"

Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), who was known as a behind-the-scenes power figure in the Park Geun-hye administration, appeared as a witness in the trial of former Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Min-seok, who was indicted for defamation of her honor, and made remarks comparing herself to Myung Tae-kyun, a key figure recently implicated in the involvement of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife in candidate selection.

Choi Seo-won. Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News on the 5th, Judge Seol Il-young of the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 19 held a trial for Ahn Min-seok, who was indicted without detention on charges including defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, and conducted witness questioning. Choi, who is currently serving time at Cheongju Prison for the state affairs manipulation case, appeared in court as a witness requested by the prosecution.

Earlier, Choi had filed a complaint against former lawmaker Ahn for spreading false information related to her through radio and other broadcasts, and the prosecution indicted Ahn without detention on November 2 of last year after investigation.

On this day, Choi, having obtained a separate opportunity to speak from the presiding judge, read a prepared statement. She said, "The reason I am standing as a witness today is to expose in detail the lies of Ahn Min-seok, who plunged me into confusion during the 2016 state affairs manipulation and paralyzed the judicial system, turning the entire country upside down," and tearfully appealed, "Please lead this trial so that politicians like Ahn Min-seok, who spread inflammatory politics and fake news, are eradicated."

Throughout the cross-examination by the defense counsel, Choi reportedly responded sharply with remarks such as "What is the intention of the question?" "Are you investigating the state affairs manipulation now?" "Present evidence, not suspicions," "You lack the qualifications of a lawyer," and "You are fabricating." During this process, Choi became emotionally agitated, causing the trial to be recessed for about 10 minutes.

In particular, when the defense counsel mentioned Choi’s acquaintance with former President Park Geun-hye and asked, "Were there people or company officials who contacted you for requests?" Choi retorted, "Hello. Looking at Myung Tae-kyun coming up now, I only did about 10% compared to him," and "What do you say I did? I first heard about THAAD from Ahn Min-seok," rebutting the question.

Former lawmaker Ahn is accused of making unverified statements during a 2016 radio appearance, such as "Choi’s hidden assets in Germany amount to trillions of won, and there are hundreds of German paper companies used for money laundering, confirmed by German prosecutors," "Choi met with the chairman of a foreign defense company and pushed through a weapons contract," and "Money from domestic companies deposited in Swiss secret accounts is related to Choi." Ahn’s side denied the charges at the first trial, arguing there was no intent to defame.

Ahn’s next trial is scheduled for January 21, 2025, during which witness questioning of three people, including broadcaster Joo Jin-woo, a former reporter for SisaIN, will take place.

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