'Accusation Instigation Suspicion' Park Ji-won: "Yoon Seok-yeol Seems to Have Fuzzy Memory... I Write Everything Down"

Director Park Ji-won of the National Intelligence Service. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Regarding the so-called 'accusation solicitation' allegations surrounding Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential pre-candidate, Park Ji-won, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, rebutted Yoon, who denied their acquaintance, saying, "It seems his memory is a bit hazy."

On the 14th, in an interview with Segye Ilbo, Director Park refuted the claim from Yoon's camp that he conspired in the allegations during a dinner with Cho Seong-eun, the whistleblower of the accusation solicitation, on the 11th of last month. Park said, "What kind of fool would conspire with Cho, a former NIS employee?" He added, "Cho said she downloaded files a day before meeting, but how would I know if she downloaded 100 or 1,000 files? She never said that."

Director Park emphasized that the essence of the allegations lies in the identity of the person who wrote the accusation letter. He said, "Wait and see. It will come out soon, won't it? It just needs to be revealed whether 'Prosecutor Son Jun-sung' wrote it."

Mocking Yoon, who denied their acquaintance, Park said, "It seems his memory is a bit hazy. I write everything down." Park is known to record his schedule and notes in a notebook.

The question of whether the two are acquainted arose during Park's rebuttal of the 'NIS involvement theory' related to the accusation solicitation allegations from Yoon's camp.

Previously, Yoon's camp had claimed the 'Director Park involvement theory' regarding the accusation solicitation allegations. Jang Je-won, the head of Yoon's campaign situation room and a People Power Party lawmaker, held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly on the 12th, naming the accusation solicitation allegations the 'Park Ji-won Gate,' stating, "There are suspicions that Director Park intervened in the presidential election to eliminate a leading opposition candidate."

In response, on the 14th, in an interview with Kyunghyang Shinmun, Director Park said, "Yoon has personal trust in me, so I have never spoken ill of him. But to talk like that..." He added, "Did Yoon only eat with people inside the prosecution? He also drank a lot with me."

He then warned Yoon, saying, "Why are you stepping on a sleeping tiger's tail? It is advantageous for you if I, as the NIS Director, keep quiet about not interfering in politics. If I go out and stir things up, who benefits?"

On the other hand, Yoon rebutted Director Park's 'drinking party' claim. On the same day, in an interview with Chosun Ilbo, he said, "Whether personally or in official settings, I have never drunk with Director Park." He added, "I met him twice at funerals ? once for the husband of a lawmaker I know and once for Director Park's wife ? but even then, we did not drink together. If Director Park remembers a drinking occasion that I do not, I hope he tells me who else was there," pressing Director Park.