Full-scale Offensive Against Kim Man-bae's 'False Interview'... "The Biggest Beneficiary Is Lee Jae-myung"

Iyangsu "Reasonable Doubt of Democratic Party Involvement"
Usangho "Newstapa Has Minimal Impact on Presidential Election"

The core figures of the Daejang-dong incident that shook the political landscape of the 20th presidential election, Kim Man-bae (major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management) and former Press Union Chairman Shin Hak-rim, are at the center of escalating verbal clashes between the ruling and opposition parties over allegations of a 'false interview.'

The People Power Party has labeled this suspicion as a 'presidential election manipulation gate,' suspecting the Democratic Party's involvement. On the other hand, the Democratic Party argued that the interview had minimal impact on the presidential election and countered that the ruling party is actually conducting political manipulation.

On the 7th, Lee Yang-su, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, said in an SBS radio interview regarding the suspicion, "Three days before the presidential election, a fabricated broadcast claimed that presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol was the mastermind behind the Daejang-dong incident. Pro-Democratic Party journalists accepted these false facts and published articles, and Democratic Party politicians amplified and reproduced this through SNS," adding, "There is no definite objective evidence, but there is reasonable suspicion that cannot help but suspect the Democratic Party's involvement."

Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, was released on the morning of the 7th after the expiration of his detention period. He is seen leaving Seoul Detention Center and responding to questions from the press.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He asked, "Who is the biggest beneficiary of the fabricated broadcast?" and answered, "It is not Shin Hak-rim, the Press Union Chairman, nor Kim Man-bae. Representative Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party are the ones who gain the most from that fabricated report. Therefore, suspicion of involvement is inevitable."

Regarding Kim Man-bae's denial of the allegations, he said, "It is unbelievable," and added, "Because this is something that could arouse national outrage to change the election result, he would naturally have to deny it." He also mentioned that they will respond to this controversy through the party's Media Policy Coordination Special Committee in the future.

On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho said in a CBS radio interview, "Claiming that this interview is false because there was a financial transaction is irrelevant. Receiving money is one thing, and the interview is another," and rebutted, "It is not credible that two former journalists received money and created a fabricated interview."

Woo also said, "(The interview) that came out three days before the presidential election had minimal impact on the election," adding, "The interview content only reconfirmed what was already revealed in the recordings of Nam Wook and Jung Young-hak before, and it did not expose any shocking new facts."

He continued, "The People Power Party is now exaggerating and accusing it of manipulation based on an interview that came out three days ago," and said, "Claiming that the presidential election scene changed because of NewsTapa's report on the Kim Man-bae-Shin Hak-rim interview is a typical distortion of facts."

Regarding the fact that Kim and former Chairman Shin had a financial transaction, Woo said, "I do not think it is very desirable. I do not know the reasons behind it well," but added, "However, approaching the entire report as false and fabricated because of that is incomprehensible. I hope questions linking that issue to the Democratic Party are avoided."

Earlier, NewsTapa released a recorded conversation file between Kim and former Chairman Shin on March 6 last year, just before the presidential election. In this recording, Kim said that "during the 2011 Busan Savings Bank investigation, then Yoon Seok-yeol, head of the Criminal Investigation Division 2 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, covered up the investigation of loan broker Jo Woo-hyung." Later, former Chairman Shin received 165 million won from Kim under the pretext of book payment, but the prosecution suspects it was payment for the false interview.