Jeon Yeo-ok Urges Kim Woong to "Answer the People's Questions"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former Saenuri Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) lawmaker Jeon Yeok criticized on the 6th regarding the allegations of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's 'prosecution request scandal,' saying, "'The one who remains silent is the culprit' perfectly describes what has happened in Korean politics."
Jeon, in a post on her Facebook that day, said, "The 'prosecution request' issue has been a seismic-level topic for several days, and according to the investigation by one media outlet, it was concluded that People Power Party lawmaker Kim Woong wrote the complaint."
She explained, "Lawmaker Kim reportedly said in the first phone call with 'News Bus' that 'I made the complaint against Choi Kang-wook,' but in the second call, he said, 'I don't know about the Kim Gun-hee Deutsche Motors case, I don't remember.'"
She continued, "'News Bus' cleverly fanned the flames. They ignored the first call and wrote the article based only on the second call where he said, 'I don't know who it is, I don't remember,'" adding, "It created an atmosphere as if former Prosecutor General Yoon implicitly or tacitly orchestrated the 'prosecution request'."
Jeon also added, "When I first encountered the 'News Bus' article, as someone who was once a journalist, I thought the story didn't add up at all." Jeon is a former KBS reporter.
She said, "Lawmaker Kim has been 'missing' for several days. However, he stated that he is not 'missing' but living his 'daily life,'" and directly criticized, "For a lawmaker, daily life means answering the questions of the people."
Furthermore, she said, "The remaining questions are 'Why did Kim Woong write that complaint?' and 'Through what route and for what purpose did the complaint end up in the hands of News Bus?'" adding, "We need to find out how 'News Bus' boarded the People Power Party bus that claims to take everything away."
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, is heading to the party leader's office on June 6 at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, to meet with party leader Lee Jun-seok. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Earlier, the internet media outlet 'News Bus' reported on the 2nd that Son Joon-sung, then the head of the Investigation Information Policy Office at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office during former Prosecutor General Yoon's tenure last April, allegedly requested prosecution against ruling party politicians to lawmaker Kim, who was a candidate from the United Future Party at the time. The complaint included names such as Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, and Choi Kang-wook and Hwang Hee-seok, then candidates for the Open Democratic Party (proportional representation).
Regarding this, People Power Party lawmaker Jang Je-won claimed that 'News Bus' deliberately did not disclose the content of the phone call with lawmaker Kim.
Jang, who is the head of the comprehensive situation room for Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign, said at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary meeting held that afternoon, "'News Bus' first contacted lawmaker Kim on September 1 but intentionally did not report the content."
According to the September 1 phone call transcript released by Jang, a News Bus reporter asked, "Did you deliver the complaint at the request of former Prosecutor General Yoon?" and lawmaker Kim replied, "No. It has nothing to do with former Prosecutor General Yoon."
Furthermore, in the call, lawmaker Kim said, "I did not get approval from the prosecution side," and "I talked with Joon-sung (Prosecutor Son Joon-sung), and I made it."
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