13th Judiciary Committee, Mentioning Former and Current Presidents
"Fake Interview, Thorough Investigation Needed"
"Chaesangbyeong Case, Need to Determine Presidential Office Involvement"
On the 13th, the ruling and opposition parties clashed in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee over the 'Kim Man-bae and Shin Hak-rim Daejang-dong false interview allegations' and the 'Marine Corps Chaesang-byeong death case investigation pressure allegations.' In particular, regarding the false interview, responsibility was attributed not only to President Yoon Seok-yeol but also to former President Moon Jae-in.
On the morning of the same day, People Power Party lawmaker Jo Su-jin mentioned the 'Daejang-dong false interview' during the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, stating, "Immediately after the report was released, Representative Lee Jae-myung shared the article 41 minutes earlier than major daily newspapers and encouraged its spread," emphasizing, "It is essential to clarify whether there was prior coordination to utilize this content."
Earlier, Newstapa disclosed an interview conducted just before last year's presidential election with Kim Man-bae, a key figure in Daejang-dong, and Shin Hak-rim, a professional committee member. In the interview, Kim gave a false statement claiming that President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was the chief prosecutor during the Busan Savings Bank case, covered up the investigation related to Daejang-dong loan broker Jo Woo-hyung. Subsequently, major daily newspapers and broadcasters cited this in their reports. In this process, Shin is suspected of receiving 165 million won from Kim.
Lawmaker Jo criticized, "As soon as the report was released three days before the presidential election, Representative Lee eagerly encouraged widespread dissemination, and the Democratic Party officially briefed that the root of the Daejang-dong case was Yoon Seok-yeol," adding, "This was organized. It is a 'presidential election manipulation' case that must be eradicated." He reiterated, "A thorough investigation into possible collusion behind the scenes is necessary. It is difficult to view this enormous crime as a solo plan by Kim Man-bae. There is a high possibility that presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was involved or conspired."
From the same party, lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye claimed that former President Moon Jae-in, who was the presidential secretary for civil affairs at the time, was responsible for the Busan Savings Bank incident. Jeon said, "The Busan Savings Bank case was investigated in 2011 and was a massive financial corruption case causing a public fund loss of 5 trillion won," adding, "The sitting president's elder brother was arrested, and White House officials including the public relations secretary were detained. Do you think that Yoon Seok-yeol, then head of the Central Investigation Department 2, would cover it up at the request of a retired senior?"
She continued, "There was much criticism that the original sin of this case lies with former President Moon Jae-in, who was the presidential secretary for civil affairs at the time," emphasizing, "There are criticisms that Moon, as the presidential secretary for civil affairs during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, did not handle it properly."
In response, the Democratic Party rebutted that linking former Secretary Moon to exerting pressure and associating him with the Busan Savings Bank case is inappropriate.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-bae responded, "In 2013, a victim group filed a complaint against former Secretary Moon, but it was dismissed. It is unethical to speak like that about a case that was dismissed."
During this process, voices were raised. Committee Chairman Kim Do-eup pointed out, "Some people even refer to the sitting president as 'Mr. Yoon Seok-yeol.'"
On the same day, the Democratic Party questioned whether there was external pressure regarding the Ministry of National Defense's withholding of the police transfer of the case involving former Marine Corps investigation team leader Park Jung-hoon.
Lawmaker Kim criticized, "When an accident occurs, it is absolutely unacceptable in a democratic republic for the state to systematically exert external pressure to conceal or manipulate the facts. This is a 'state power abuse' case," adding, "What the public truly demands is an accurate revelation of the truth in this Marine Corps death case investigation pressure and cover-up incident." He also criticized the ruling party for framing the 'false interview' controversy as an election manipulation, saying, "I have never seen a winner in an election retaliate against the losing side for such a long time."
Kim said, "The core of this Marine Corps case is that on July 31, the Minister of National Defense approved and then reversed the position, and in the meantime, the presidential office was involved. We need to investigate what kind of report was made during the presidential office's tea time that morning, whether the president or presidential office officials contacted the minister or those around the minister, and the reasons behind the minister's reversal of position."
Meanwhile, on the same day, Minister Lee announced that he had tendered his resignation to President Yoon Seok-yeol. When Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin asked, "'There are concerns about a security vacuum' as a reason for the resignation, and there are reports that it was a dismissal due to the military insubordination incident becoming public," Minister Lee confirmed, "It is true that I have tendered my resignation," adding, "I believe it is not my place to make further evaluations."
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