Presidential Office: "Park Ji-won and Kim Jong-dae's Remarks Are Absurd... Filing Defamation Lawsuit"

Presidential Office Files Complaint Against Park Ji-won and Kim Jong-dae for Defamation
"Recent Remarks by Lawmakers Are Absurd and Excessive"
Legal Team Denies Allegations Linking Martial Law to Shamanism and Myeong Tae-gyun Gate
"Legitimate Criticism Must Be Based on Substantial Grounds"
President's Restraint Is Tolerance, Not an Admission of Guilt

The Presidential Office has filed a complaint against Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who linked President Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law to shamanism, and former Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae, who made remarks implying that President Yoon was intoxicated on the day martial law was declared, on charges of defamation by publication and violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

A Presidential Office official said on the 19th, "Recent remarks by some lawmakers are not only absurd but also excessive," adding, "It is wrong to seek popularity through provocative and inflammatory words or to spread unverified reports for political purposes."

President Yoon's legal team stated the previous day regarding the two lawmakers' remarks, "These are clear falsehoods," and added, "They linked President Yoon's martial law to shamanism and spread false information suggesting the president was involved in the Myeong Tae-gyun gate."

Earlier, lawmaker Park claimed on a radio broadcast that the reason for martial law was that "they believed a shaman's words that 'luck will be good after Seol (Lunar New Year),' and the First Lady, who received the Myeong Tae-gyun gate investigation report on November 4, a month before martial law, told the president, 'If this breaks out, everyone will die, declare martial law quickly,' which led to the declaration of martial law."

Park also said that during the president and First Lady's visit to the United States in April 2023, Dr. Jill Biden wanted a state dinner performance by the girl group Blackpink, but the First Lady blocked it.

President Yoon's side rebutted, saying, "There is no basis whatsoever for the claim that the First Lady blocked a specific singer's performance at a state dinner of a national leader," adding, "This is purely an attempt to tarnish the president."

Park Ji-won, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea

Former lawmaker Kim appeared on a YouTube channel on the 17th and said, "When President Yoon left the Decision Support Office on the day martial law was declared, there was a smell of alcohol," implying that the president might have declared martial law impulsively under the influence of alcohol.

President Yoon's side emphasized, "The false remarks by the two lawmakers and the degradation and insult toward the president have crossed the line," adding, "Legitimate criticism of a public figure must have substantial grounds and a justifiable purpose for the public interest."

They continued, "The president's choice not to dispute every detail or express grievances is the utmost tolerance and forbearance based on his position as president," adding, "Those who exploit this to politically attack and personally insult him will inevitably be held legally accountable."

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