After the initial report on September 2
Press conference of Kim Woong and Yoon Seok-yeol
Even allegations of Park Ji-won’s involvement
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is appearing on the YouTube live broadcast "All Day Live" held on the 12th at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, targeting 12 preliminary candidates for the primary election. 2021.9.12 [Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers] [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The so-called 'accusation manipulation' scandal recently shook the political circles in Yeouido. Initially, attention was focused on former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who was pointed out as the mastermind behind the scenes. However, as whistleblower Jo Seong-eun (former vice-chair of the Future United Party's election committee) came to the forefront and rumors of National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won’s involvement surfaced from the opposition, the accusation manipulation scandal also evolved into a 'whistleblower manipulation' suspicion. The ruling and opposition parties engaged in a full-scale confrontation day after day, dividing the issue into the 'Yoon Seok-yeol Gate' and the 'Park Ji-won Gate.' Here is a chronological summary of the political issues related to this case.
① September 2: First report on 'accusation manipulation' = On the 2nd, 'News Bus' reported allegations that the prosecution attempted to accuse about ten ruling party figures through the opposition party just before the 21st National Assembly election (general election) last year in April. According to the report, Son Jun-sung, then the Policy Officer for Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, twice delivered over 100 images related to accusation documents containing real names of ruling party figures such as Yoo Si-min, Choi Kang-wook, and Hwang Hee-seok to Kim Woong, a candidate of the Future United Party (now People Power Party), via Telegram. News Bus speculated that Son acted under the orders of former Prosecutor General Yoon, who was in office at the time, as some of the allegations included defamation related to family members.
② September 3: Yoon Seok-yeol says, "If you have evidence, present it" = After the report, Yoon’s side issued a statement denying the allegations as 'groundless.' At a meeting with reporters on the 3rd, the day after the report, Yoon strongly asserted, "Present the evidence" regarding the accusation manipulation allegations, saying he had no reason to orchestrate such accusations. Yoon continued with his scheduled events as planned. He also argued that if the accusations were to be actually filed, the request would have been made directly to Jeong Jeom-sik, then head of the legal support team and known to be close to Yoon, rather than to Kim, who had a weak position within the party.
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@
③ September 6: Similarity of Future United Party accusation documents = The claim by Yoon’s side that the April accusation documents were not problematic because no actual accusations were filed was once again overturned. On the 6th, 'KBS' reported that the accusation document filed by the Future United Party against Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, in August last year was almost identical to one of the accusation manipulation documents (sent on April 8, 2020) that Kim reportedly received from Prosecutor Son. According to KBS, some parts of the accusation manipulation content that Kim received in April were absorbed into the party and then drafted into an actual accusation document, which led to the accusation four months later. The materials Kim passed on were image files of photos taken by mobile phone of the accusation documents.
④ September 8: Kim Woong and Yoon Seok-yeol press conferences = Kim Woong, a key figure in the case and a member of the People Power Party, held a press conference on the 8th, explaining that he "does not remember" the incident. He clearly stated, "I declare that I did not write the accusation document reported by a certain media outlet (News Bus). The conversation at the time was to clarify that I was the first within the party to raise issues related to Representative Choi Kang-wook without knowing the existence of the accusation document reported, and the actual accusation document reported has nothing to do with me." It was essentially a press conference repeating the stance of "I do not remember." Former Prosecutor General Yoon also held an emergency press conference on the afternoon of the 8th, saying, "A mysterious document without source or author confused the public," and urged, "(The whistleblower) should come out boldly instead of hiding after throwing a bomb."
⑤ September 9: People Power Party launches ‘Fair Election Promotion Team’ = It was revealed that the accusation document actually filed in August was drafted in the office of Representative Jeong Jeom-sik. Lawyer Jo Sang-gyu, who submitted the accusation document through various media, received the 'draft' from a party audit office official, who reportedly obtained the file from Representative Jeong’s office on August 20 last year. Although it was a personal issue for the candidate, fearing it could escalate into a party risk, the People Power Party launched the 'Fair Election Promotion Team' led by Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won. The team was expected to take a negative response approach but also to closely examine the accusation manipulation case. The ruling party strongly criticized it as 'collusion between the prosecution and the party.'
⑥ September 10: First whistleblower appears = Jo Seong-eun, who had repeatedly denied being the whistleblower in various media interviews, suddenly appeared on broadcast claiming, "I am the whistleblower and a public interest reporter." On the 10th, Jo appeared on 'JTBC' news and admitted receiving the documents from Representative Kim, saying, "Kim called me and said, 'Make sure to submit it to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Civil Complaints Office.' He said, 'Absolutely not to the Central District Prosecutors' Office.'" This effectively pointed again to former Prosecutor General Yoon as the mastermind.
⑦ September 13: "It was not a date discussed with the director" = Since Jo’s broadcast appearance, the opposition strongly raised suspicions of National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won’s involvement. Jo, who has switched parties several times, is known to be one of Park’s close aides.
Jo herself partly triggered the suspicion of Park’s involvement. On the 13th, appearing on 'SBS' news, Jo said, "Regarding the dates and periods of the whistleblowing and reporting, people are trying to frame me, but the date September 2 was neither a date that our director (Park) or I wanted nor a date I was consulted or accommodated on," which further intensified the suspicion. The People Power Party launched a counterattack, claiming Jo confessed to Park’s involvement. Despite Jo’s explanation, it was reported that Jo downloaded the accusation documents before meeting Park on August 11, fueling the hypothesis that Park was deeply involved in the accusation manipulation scandal circulating in political circles.
Yoon’s side responded by launching a 'Special Committee for Truth Investigation of Political Manipulation' and filed complaints with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) against Park, Jo, and an unidentified person for violating the National Intelligence Service Act and Public Official Election Act. They raised suspicions that the NIS director, who should maintain political neutrality, intervened in the presidential election to eliminate a leading opposition candidate. On the same day, Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, and Hwang Hee-seok, Supreme Council member, also filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office assigned the case to the Public Investigation Division 1 within a day.
⑧ September 14: Park Ji-won warns, "Don’t step on a sleeping tiger’s tail" = Park warned former Prosecutor General Yoon, who claimed Park’s involvement, saying, "Don’t step on a sleeping tiger’s tail," and mentioned the 'Yoon Woo-jin former tax office chief bribery suspicion' case on the 14th. The opposition responded by calling it "blackmail and threats using the position of the NIS director." A rumor that an unidentified person named in the accusation document filed by Yoon’s camp was a member of Hong Joon-pyo’s camp led to a major confrontation between Hong’s camp and Yoon’s camp.
Cho Sung-eun, former vice chairman of the election campaign committee of the United Future Party (now People Power Party), who revealed himself as the whistleblower in the allegation of instigating prosecution of ruling party figures through the opposition party, appeared on JTBC Newsroom on the afternoon of the 10th, showing evidence submitted to investigative agencies. 2021.9.10 [Provided by JTBC. Resale and DB prohibited] [Image source=Yonhap News] Photo by JTBC
⑨ September 16: Jo and Park met before the first report = It was reported that Jo met Park once more at the end of August just before News Bus’s first report. On the 16th, 'Chosun Ilbo' reported that an additional meeting took place just before the first internet media report on September 2. Jo confirmed this, saying on 'YTN' radio that the meeting was in the fourth week of August and that Park said, "I’m nearby, let’s have a drink," so she went out during a work meeting.
⑩ September 17: Jo Seong-eun’s final media interview = On the 17th, Jo announced in a 'YTN' radio interview that she would no longer engage with the media. She said her role as a whistleblower was over and that she would only cooperate with the investigation. Although she planned to travel abroad for business, she said she would postpone her departure after Yoon’s side said they would request a travel ban. On the afternoon of the 17th, Jo posted on her Facebook, "I was preparing hard to launch a service and planned to visit New York, but now there’s a fuss about traveling to the U.S. and travel bans. I will go slowly after revealing all the criminal facts." Jo still holds membership in the People Power Party. The accusation manipulation allegations are currently under investigation by the CIO, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
