Significant Impact Expected Following Prosecutor's Investigation Results
On the morning of the 7th, representatives of the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media who came to submit a complaint against Channel A reporters at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, are responding to questions from the press. / Photo by Kim Hyung-min
[Asia Economy Reporters Seokjin Choi and Hyungmin Kim] The suspicion of collusion between a Channel A reporter and the prosecution, which surfaced through an MBC report, has ultimately led to a prosecution complaint.
As it became known that the whistleblower is a staunch supporter of the current government, political parties have been engaged in disputes, and attention is focused on how far the truth will be uncovered through the prosecution's investigation.
On the morning of the 7th, the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media (MinEonRyeon) filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office against Channel A reporter Dongjae Lee and an unnamed prosecutor appearing in the MBC report on charges of intimidation.
Around 10 a.m. that day, Kim Seo-jung, co-executive director of MinEonRyeon, who came to submit the complaint at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, said, "It is unacceptable for a reporter to conduct reporting through intimidation, and a media company with such a reporter is practically as good as having received a death sentence as journalists," adding, "I thought this was wrong and should never happen again, so I considered what legal measures could be taken and decided to file a complaint on the grounds of clear intimidation."
On the 31st of last month, MBC reported that a Channel A legal affairs team reporter approached the camp of former Value Investment CEO Cheol Lee, who is incarcerated in connection with the SillaJen case, and demanded information about the misconduct of Yoon Si-min, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation. The report also stated that during the process, the reporter boasted of his connections by playing a phone call with a chief prosecutor known to be a close aide of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.
However, immediately after the report, the chief prosecutor in the recording denied that he was the prosecutor appearing in the recording.
The Ministry of Justice, after receiving the results of this internal investigation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, has instructed a supplementary investigation.
There is no dispute in the legal or media circles that there was a problem with reporter Lee's reporting methods. In particular, many opinions suggest that Lee's mentioning of the family while seemingly implying that he could influence the prosecution's investigation when dealing with the incarcerated former CEO could constitute intimidation or a violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act, depending on the circumstances.
However, the core issue in this case is not whether reporter Lee will face criminal punishment individually, but whether, as reported by MBC, there was actual information sharing or transactions between reporter Lee and prosecution officials regarding the SillaJen investigation or misconduct of current government officials.
If any such circumstances are revealed through the prosecution's investigation, Prosecutor General Yoon's prosecution will inevitably suffer serious damage.
On the other hand, if it turns out that, as some conservative media have alleged, the report was orchestrated by fervent supporters of the current government and some ruling party politicians to shake Prosecutor General Yoon, the repercussions are also expected to be significant.
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