Ruling Party Faces Widespread Fallout Over 'Indictment Withdrawal Deal Theory'... "Jeon Hangil-Style Conspiracy Politics"

"From Conspiracy Theories to Impeachment—Appalling"
Democratic Party Leadership Unites in Criticism

The controversy continues to grow as a pro-government YouTube channel run by Kim Eo-jun has raised allegations of a "deal" involving the cancellation of President Lee Jaemyung's indictment in exchange for prosecution reform, and even mentioned the impeachment of the president on March 11.

On March 11, Assemblyman Han Junho posted on his social media, "Not satisfied with conspiracy theories, now they're even talking about impeachment. This has really crossed a line. It is appalling."

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Hyunwoo = On March 9, Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended a policy forum related to the prosecution's abuse of prosecution rights and the dismissal of prosecution system held by the Democratic Party's "National Assembly Investigation Promotion Committee for Truth Clarification of the Yoon Seok-yeol Regime's Fabricated Indictment and Prosecution Cancellation" at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. He took a commemorative photo with Park Sungjun, a member of the National Assembly and vice chairman of the promotion committee, and other attendees. 2026.3.9 nowwego@yna.co.kr (End)

Assemblyman Han stated, "Comments mentioning the impeachment of the president based on unsubstantiated conspiracy theories are being casually aired on broadcasts," and added, "Spreading conspiracy theories and even raising the issue of impeachment based on unverified claims is irresponsible agitation that shakes state affairs." He continued, "Impeachment is not something to be mentioned lightly."

During the broadcast, former KBS reporter Hong Sahun said, "If the allegation of a deal exchanging the president's indictment cancellation for prosecution reform is true, it constitutes grounds for impeachment." He added, "In fact, it seems possible that former MBC reporter Jang Insu, who raised this suspicion, may have been manipulated by an informant with an agenda." The day before, Jang had claimed on Kim's YouTube channel that "a high-ranking government official instructed senior prosecutors to cancel the president's indictment because it was the president's will."

The Democratic National Innovation Council, a group aligned with Lee, also issued a statement the same day, demanding, "Now that you've gone so far as to mention impeachment on top of the unfounded indictment cancellation deal allegations, disclose your evidence immediately." The council criticized, "After the embargo breach controversy, false articles about the prime minister, and now the baseless indictment cancellation deal, impeachment of the president is being referenced. A mistake may happen once or twice, but if this keeps happening, it is no longer a mistake—it's intentional."

They added, "How is this behavior, leading from the indictment cancellation deal allegations to talk of impeachment, any different from the conspiracy politics of Jeon Hangil's kind? At this point, it would not be excessive to say they are akin to those who peddle election fraud conspiracy theories." The statement continued, "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory must clearly explain to the public the basis and intent for mentioning the president's impeachment, and reporter Jang Insu must immediately disclose the concrete evidence and reporting context for the indictment cancellation deal allegation."

Members of the party leadership also criticized the allegations in unison. Supreme Council Member Lee Eonju wrote, "After all sorts of trash conspiracy theories have run rampant, now they're attacking the president and the government—this has gone too far. Anyone with even a basic understanding of legal principles or the dangers of prosecutorial abuse, or anyone with genuine intentions for prosecution reform, would never dare to bring up the indictment cancellation deal theory."

Assemblywoman Lee rebutted, "Indictment cancellation is not done at will, but only in cases of abuse of prosecutorial rights, that is, when there is illegal or unjust prosecution. If the grounds are recognized, the indictment must be canceled; prosecutors cannot just abuse their authority to withhold cancellation and inflict suffering, as was done in the past." She further argued, "The prosecution reform proposal and indictment cancellation cannot logically be the subject of a deal. I cannot understand what kind of logical thinking could lead to such a conspiratorial connection."

Han Jeongae, policy chief, also commented, "The recent indictment cancellation deal rumor raised on a YouTube channel is not only absurd but infuriating. It is infuriating that the biggest interpretation is that the president was directly involved, even though it's unclear whether this was truly the 'president's will' or just a claim."

She continued, "How many attacks has the president suffered not only from the prosecution but also from distorted reporting? The more politically impactful a claim is, the stricter the evidentiary standard should be. Knowing this well, what is the reason for approaching this in such a conspiratorial way?"

Jeon Yonggi, senior deputy floor spokesperson, also said on SBS Radio, "The president should not be shaken by groundless rumors. This is extremely unpleasant."

Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Jeong Seongho wrote on social media that it is regrettable "to introduce extremely inappropriate conspiracy theories simply because opinions differ from one's own, thereby dividing and causing conflict in a public forum where rational debate should occur on the issue of prosecution reform, which the entire nation should deliberate." Minister Jeong completely denied the allegations, stating, "I have never told prosecutors to cancel indictments related to any specific case, nor have I delivered any messages or texts related to supplementary investigative authority."

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