Lawyers Protest, Apology Posted
"Wrong File Uploaded... It Was Unintentional"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Kim Namguk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and chief of staff for Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's presidential campaign, posted a clarification file related to the 'Daejang-dong development preferential treatment allegations' in a social networking service (SNS) chatroom with thousands of participating lawyers, which led to complaints. Kim explained and apologized, stating that he had 'uploaded the wrong file,' and reportedly left the chatroom.
According to 'TV Chosun' on the 24th, Kim posted a file titled 'Daejang-dong Development Project Q&A' in the KakaoTalk group chat 'Lawyers Knowledge Forum,' which has about 2,200 participating lawyers, on the morning of the 23rd. This chatroom is known to be a platform where lawyers discuss legal issues.
The file is said to be the same document as the clarification statement regarding the preferential treatment allegations of the Daejang-dong development project, which the Lee Jae-myung campaign distributed to reporters on the 22nd.
However, after Kim posted the file, lawyers participating in the chatroom reacted negatively. One lawyer pointed out, "Why are you posting such absurd clarifications?" Another sarcastically criticized, saying, "Attorney Kim Namguk, please do politics in Yeouido." Nonetheless, some posts reportedly defended Kim, suggesting that it seemed like a mistake and that the criticism was too harsh.
About seven minutes after uploading the file, Kim apologized, saying, "Oh my, I am truly sorry. The file was uploaded by mistake," and explained, "This was not content to be shared in this room, but it was unintentionally sent to the group chat."
However, as the controversy continued, Kim eventually posted a lengthy apology about two hours later and left the chatroom.
He said, "I apologize once again for sharing a file that could cause misunderstandings," emphasizing, "The shared file is about 60 pages long and is a document summarizing factual and legal matters in the form of an opinion letter, and it is absolutely not intended for promotion or dissemination elsewhere."
He added, "For smooth knowledge sharing, I believe it is desirable to operate in work-related information sharing rooms regardless of political orientation, so I will leave the room for a while. Even if I am out, please do not forget that I am always a lawyer. I will carefully attend to various current issues in the legal profession and respect my senior and junior colleagues."
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