People Power Party Files Complaint Against Jeong Yeon-ju, Chair of the Communications Ethics Commission, Over 'Disclosure of Party Complaint Counts'

The People Power Party's Fair Media Committee announced on the 2nd that it has filed a police complaint against Jeong Yeon-ju, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, on charges including official secret leakage, citing the reason that she disclosed the number of complaints the People Power Party filed with the Commission.

In a press release issued that day, the committee stated, "We have filed a complaint against Chairperson Jeong for revealing complainants without consent, violating Article 7 (Information Protection) of the Act on the Handling of Complaints, Article 27 (Integrity and Confidentiality Obligations) of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Korea Communications Commission, and Article 172 (Leakage of Official Secrets) of the Criminal Act."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 22nd of last month, Chairperson Jeong introduced the number of complaints filed by political parties during a press conference, stating, "Complaints submitted by political parties to the Commission have surged over the past three years, reaching 1,687 cases in 2022."

The committee said, "The Commission's disclosure of complainants goes beyond a simple violation of 'confidentiality obligations' and raises suspicions of 'civilian surveillance.' We have received reports at the People Power Party that the Commission did not merely disclose complainant information but absurdly identified which political party the complainants belonged to by using addresses and other details from complaints filed under civilians' names." They added, "If this report is true, it is a clear act of surveillance, and Chairperson Jeong must bear heavy responsibility."

The committee also expressed regret over the Democratic Party of Korea's stance defending Chairperson Jeong's illegal actions, criticizing, "The Democratic Party's claim that there is nothing wrong with aggregating and disclosing complainants is utterly absurd."

The committee further pointed out, "Revealing the identities of complainants is strictly prohibited by the Act on the Handling of Complaints," calling it "a statement that disregards the rule of law, befitting a party led by the 'king of illegality' as its leader."