"Newstapa, Lacking Responsibility as a Media"
"Presidential Election Manipulation Following the 'Kim Dae-up Gate'"
Regarding the 'Daejang-dong false interview suspicion' involving Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Korean Federation of Journalists' Unions, Jang Ye-chan, the Youth Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, claimed, "Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Man-bae are one team," asserting that the false interview was conducted through prior coordination with Lee's side.
On the 6th, during CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Jang said, "While Kim Man-bae planned and created this, the Democratic Party did not passively accept and cite Kim Man-bae and NewsTapa's report. Rather, Lee Jae-myung had known about this report beforehand, and as soon as it was released, all members of the election campaign committee were mobilized to launch concentrated attacks on SNS. Such an action would have been impossible without prior coordination."
Jang Ye-chan, Youth Supreme Committee Candidate of the People Power Party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
The NewsTapa report containing the interview with former chairman Shin and Kim Man-bae suggested that the core figure behind the Daejang-dong suspicion was then-candidate President Yoon Seok-youl. The People Power Party claims that the report, released three days before the presidential election, influenced the election landscape. Jang stated, "Three days before the election is within the period when public opinion polls are prohibited from being published," adding, "Fake news or false fabricated interviews could have significantly influenced the unexpected close election results."
He further said, "This should not be dismissed as a mere fake news incident but regarded as an election manipulation intervention that aimed to shake the history of the Republic of Korea, following the 'Kim Dae-up Gate.' The People Power Party's stance is to respond more strictly to this."
The Kim Dae-up Gate refers to the 2002 presidential election when Kim Dae-up raised allegations regarding Lee Hoi-chang, then presidential candidate, about his son's military service exemption, which was considered a fatal blow to Lee's campaign.
Jang pointed out, "This did not end with just one NewsTapa report. At that time, public broadcast news including KBS and MBC intensively reported Kim Man-bae's fabricated interview for three days," adding, "Over two days, more than 60 posts containing Kim Man-bae's false interview were uploaded on SNS by key figures holding positions in the Democratic Party's election campaign committee, including Lee Jae-myung, stating that the public needed to be informed."
NewsTapa issued an apology the previous day regarding the financial transactions between former chairman Shin and Kim Man-bae but explained that the report was made in the public's right to know. In response, Jang said, "NewsTapa shows no sense of responsibility as a media outlet, which is deplorable," and criticized, "Former chairman Shin was not an external member but an insider receiving research funds and other money from NewsTapa. However, when reporting the article, NewsTapa did not disclose that Shin was affiliated with them at all."
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