"Can't Remember the Accusation Letter" Kim Woong's Inconsistent Statements... "Is It Related to Suncheon High School Alumni?"

"I Did Not Write the Accusation Letter"

Who Wrote the April Accusation Letter?
Who Was the First Informant?
What Was the Background of the Report?

Core Suspicions Lost in Mystery

Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, is answering reporters' questions after holding a press conference on the 8th at the National Assembly Communication Office regarding the allegations of 'prosecution solicitation' involving Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Jinyoung Jeon] On the 8th, Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, held a press conference and explained the controversial ‘accusation solicitation’ allegations by saying he "does not remember." The accusation solicitation allegation involves Son Joon-sung, then the Policy Officer for Information and Investigation at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, who allegedly wrote an accusation letter on behalf of Kim Woong via Telegram before the April 2020 general election, urging him to accuse opposition figures such as Choi Kang-wook, Hwang Hee-seok, and Yoo Si-min. However, over the past few days in media interviews, Kim has given inconsistent explanations such as "I wrote it," "It wasn’t me," and "I think I did receive it from Policy Officer Son." At the press conference, he again failed to present any clear ‘memory’ that could dispel the allegations. As a result, key questions such as who actually wrote the accusation letter, who the whistleblower is, and the background of the tip-off remain unresolved in a maze of uncertainty.

◆Who wrote the April accusation letter? = At the press conference, Kim stated, "I clearly declare that the accusation letter (from April) reported through the (News Bus) media was not written by me. I do not remember and have no way to verify the allegation that I received the accusation letter and related documents from the prosecution official (Policy Officer Son) and delivered them to the party." Initially, Kim had stated in interviews that he wrote the accusation letter, but at the meeting with reporters on this day, he explained, "I was unaware of the existence of the reported accusation letter itself and am clarifying that I was the first within the party to raise issues related to Representative Choi Kang-wook."

If Kim was not the author of the April accusation letter, it is possible that Policy Officer Son wrote and delivered it. However, Son has denied the allegations, stating, "It is completely untrue that I wrote the accusation letter or sent attached materials to Representative Kim," leaving the ‘author’ question hanging in the air. There are also suspicions that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl might have ordered such instructions to Policy Officer Son, but Yoon’s side claims the reported accusation letter itself is fabricated. The reasons include the fact that multiple accused individuals were consecutively listed in the accusation letter and the content of the accusations was not systematic enough to have been written by a legal expert.

◆Who is the whistleblower and for whom did they report? = Regarding the person who first reported the accusation solicitation allegations to the media, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department stated on this day that the individual met the requirements of a whistleblower under relevant laws. Since Kim himself has not disclosed the identity of the whistleblower he ‘knows,’ it has become difficult to identify the whistleblower under the current circumstances. After the press conference, Kim said, "If the whistleblower I am thinking of is correct, the suspicion of (political manipulation) will quickly resonate," indirectly implying that there is someone behind the scenes. If it is revealed during the prosecution’s investigation why the whistleblower, reportedly affiliated with a certain major presidential candidate’s camp, decided to report to the media, it could have a significant impact on the upcoming presidential election landscape.

◆Why Kim Woong? = Assuming that Policy Officer Son delivered the accusation letter to Representative Kim, questions arise as to why Son singled out Kim, who was then a candidate for the National Assembly, as the ‘solicitation’ target. If Son or the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s goal was an actual accusation through the United Future Party, Kim, who had a weak position within the party, might not have been an appropriate target. On the other hand, since the accusation was related to former Prosecutor General Yoon, it might have been easier to directly request Jeong Jeom-sik, then head of the legal support team, who was known to be close to Yoon. This is also the counterargument presented by those who claim the allegations are fabricated and politically motivated.

Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, is entering the press conference room on the 8th at the National Assembly Communication Office to hold a press conference regarding the allegations of 'prosecution solicitation' involving Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Regarding this, Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party and the accused party, said, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon needed a new collaborator, and since Kim was running for office, there was a mutual interest in showing results to the party." He also raised the possibility that all parties involved in the accusation were alumni of Suncheon High School, linking Kim through school ties. Choi said, "The recipient of the April accusation letter was the head of the Public Investigation Department. At that time, Bae Yong-won, head of the Public Investigation Department, was an alumnus of Suncheon High School with Kim." Additionally, Policy Officer Son was a classmate of Kim at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Another suspicious factor is that the accusation letter used the Open Democratic Party’s office address instead of Choi’s home address. If the accusation letter is received at the party office address, the Southern District Prosecutors’ Office has jurisdiction. At that time, the head of the Southern District Prosecutors’ Office was also an alumnus of Kim’s high school.