Lawmakers accused of receiving money envelopes from Rep. Yoon Kwan-seok, who left the Democratic Party amid allegations related to the '2021 Democratic Party Convention Money Envelope' scandal, have filed complaints with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) against the prosecution for leaking the information, and have also filed complaints against the media outlets that reported the matter.
On the 8th, Rep. Park Sung-joon of the Democratic Party stated on his social media (SNS), "Publishing articles based on the prosecution's fiction that money envelopes were exchanged in a public meeting attended by aides, and even revealing real names, is a serious defamation," adding, "I plan to sue the Chosun Ilbo reporter who wrote the article at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency."
He also said, "Only the presiding judge, prosecutor, suspect, and lawyers are allowed in the warrant hearing court, so the exposure of unsubstantiated allegations to the media was intentional," and announced that he would file a complaint with the CIO against the prosecution officials who leaked the allegations.
Rep. Baek Hye-ryun of the Democratic Party also issued a statement that day, saying, "I have filed a complaint with the CIO against the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 for publicizing allegations against Rep. Yoon Kwan-seok." She also stated that she requested a correction from the Korea Press Arbitration Commission regarding the Chosun Ilbo's report that named her as a current lawmaker involved in the money envelope scandal.
Rep. Hwang Un-ha of the Democratic Party also said, "As the situation arose where neither the giver nor the receiver of the money envelopes exists, the prosecution recklessly threw out a list of people presumed to have attended the meeting, claiming they were recipients of the money envelopes, and is conducting a political operation in collaboration with certain media rather than an investigation," adding, "I will sue the unidentified prosecutor who leaked the list to the Chosun Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo reporter who received it and reported it under the title 'exclusive' for 'defamation' and 'publicizing allegations against suspects.'"
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