'Handonghun Aftershock' Hits Legislation and Judiciary Committee... Jeong Seongho's 'Evidence Tampering Suspicion' Sparks Ruling and Opposition Clash

Handonghun, at the National Assembly yesterday: "I have not been informed about the arrest warrant request for Lee Jaemyung"
Democrats: "Naively believed... Jeong Seongho's visitation report involved the Judiciary Committee Chairman"
Kim Doeup: "Check the data yourself and refrain from speaking"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 16th, when Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was issued an arrest warrant by the prosecution over allegations of preferential treatment in the Wirye and Daejang-dong development projects and donations to Seongnam FC, a heated debate broke out in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee over the legitimacy of the warrant request.

Democratic Party members of the Judiciary Committee argued that requesting an arrest warrant for Lee, who has no flight risk or suspicion of evidence tampering, was unjust, and criticized the recent media reports about Rep. Jung Sung-ho, a close aide of Lee, meeting with Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong as fabricating 'forced circumstances.' During this process, Democratic Party members accused Committee Chair Kim Do-eup of being involved in media reports, calling it 'slander, schemes, and manipulation,' to which Chair Kim strongly rebutted, saying, "Check the materials directly and refrain from speaking recklessly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Ki Dong-min, the opposition party's secretary of the Judiciary Committee, said during a procedural speech, "Yesterday, when I asked Minister Han Dong-hoon, who appeared before the Judiciary Committee, 'Have you been briefed on the plan to request an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung?' he said, 'I have not been briefed.' I was incredulous," adding, "But just now, I saw reports that an arrest warrant was requested for Lee. It is a heartbreaking feeling."

Ki said, "There is a saying that evil boldly goes its own way, but why must good constantly prove itself?" and criticized, "February 16 will be recorded as the day democracy was massacred by the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution."

He continued, "The stock manipulation of Deutsche Motors involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee is also intensifying public suspicion and curiosity. There is overwhelming evidence in the first trial verdict," and fiercely condemned, "The request for Lee Jae-myung's arrest warrant is ultimately a diversion to shift public attention away from Mrs. Kim."

Rep. Park Beom-gye of the same party also lamented, revisiting Minister Han's previous response, saying, "(The Democratic Party) was naive."

Park said, "Every time Minister Han appeared before the National Assembly, there were always major incidents before and after. Yesterday, Minister Han said he had not been briefed on whether an arrest warrant would be requested for Lee, so the Democratic Party naively believed him. What is astonishing is that the contents of Rep. Jung Sung-ho's visit were directly reflected in the investigation," he said.

Rep. Jung, considered a leading figure of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, was recently revealed to have had a special visit at Seoul Detention Center with Jeong Jin-sang, former Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party leader's office, and Kim Yong, former director of the Democratic Research Institute, both recently indicted and detained. Some media reported that he conveyed words to "steel your mind" during the meeting, and the Democratic Party believes this visitation information was politically 'leaked.'

Park said, "How could it be possible that the contents of the visit were directly reflected in the investigation? Unless the Minister was briefed through the Correctional Headquarters and the Ministry of Justice leaked it, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the investigative agency, must have known in advance," emphasizing, "If so, they would have raised suspicion of evidence tampering, which then led to the request for Lee's arrest warrant. It seems like they tried to create the appearance of evidence tampering."

He then referred to reports that Judiciary Committee Chair Kim Do-eup, as a rank-and-file member, requested the Ministry of Justice to submit materials related to 'Jung Sung-ho's visitation,' and pointed out, "At this point, since Lee has no flight risk, has complied with summons, and there is no evidence tampering, isn't this a plan to indirectly create evidence tampering circumstances through his closest aide, Rep. Jung Sung-ho?" He criticized, "Chair Kim must clarify the before and after of this matter." When voices rose accusing Chair Kim of "slander, schemes, and manipulation," Chair Kim raised his voice, saying, "Choose your words carefully."

As the commotion continued for some time, Chair Kim handed over the materials he had requested from the Ministry of Justice for the Democratic Party Judiciary Committee members to check themselves. Chair Kim said, "Please speak after reviewing the materials," and demanded an apology for remarks such as 'slander.'

In fact, the materials submitted by Chair Kim only recorded the official number of visits related to Lee Hwa-young, Jeong Jin-sang, and Kim Yong. Chair Kim rebutted the Democratic Party's claims, saying they were incorrect.

Chair Kim said, "Accurately grasp the facts and make your arguments logically," adding, "The official response I received from the Ministry of Justice was that detailed information cannot be disclosed due to the Personal Information Protection Act, so only the number of visits was provided."

He further stated, "Since our party was in opposition, we have consistently monitored visits of key figures," strongly opposing the Democratic Party members' push with accusations of 'vile manipulation' and demanding an apology.