Kim Eui-gyeom Admits "There Were Reporting Gaps,"
Ruling Party Says "Repeated Fake News? Strategically Calculated Lies"
Kim Eui-gyeom, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who claimed that the judge in charge of the warrant for Representative Lee Jae-myung was a college classmate of Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon, has been reported.
On the 25th, Lee Jong-bae, a Seoul city councilor from the People Power Party, announced that he had reported Kim and an unidentified informant for defamation by spreading false information under the Information and Communications Network Act. Lee said, "Since Kim said he spoke based on a tip, the informant who provided false information will also be criminally charged as an accomplice."
Earlier, on the 22nd, Kim appeared on KBS Radio and claimed, "(The prosecution) chose the warrant judge they thought was most favorable to themselves," adding, "The selected judge happens to be Minister Han's college classmate from Seoul National University Law School, class of '92."
However, this was not true. Minister Han and Yoo Chang-hoon, the chief warrant judge at the Seoul Central District Court, were both born in 1973 and graduated from Seoul National University, but Minister Han is from the class of '92, while Judge Yoo is from the class of '93.
The Ministry of Justice issued a statement refuting Kim's remarks. The ministry said, "The judge mentioned by Kim is not Minister Han's college classmate, and they do not even know each other," adding, "Kim, who has spread fake news multiple times without any apology or corrective action, is now spreading fake news on a public broadcast with the intent to unduly influence the trial. Necessary measures will be taken."
Kim also admitted his mistake, saying, "There must have been a 'gap' during the investigation process." On the 23rd, he stated on Facebook, "The person who originally provided this information is a legal professional from Seoul National University Law School, class of '92. Checking the legal professional directory, they are both born in 1973 and graduated high school in 1992. Although I could not verify the most important university admission year, there was no reason not to believe it."
He added, "Since Minister Han will surely file another lawsuit, I will submit my investigation notes to the court."
The People Power Party criticized Kim for deliberately spreading fake news and repeatedly inciting. Last year, Kim was sued for 1 billion won in a civil lawsuit by Minister Han after raising suspicions about a drinking party in Cheongdam-dong.
Kim Min-soo, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said on YTN News on the 26th, "Kim repeatedly spreads a lot of such fake news, and since there are no sanctions from the Democratic Party, some even say that the Democratic Party has a lie production TF team."
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