Charges of Spreading False Information and Defamation
Kim Jung-sook, the wife of former President Moon Jae-in, filed a complaint with the police against People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin, who raised various suspicions regarding her visit to India.
On the 17th, Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former head of the Blue House's National Situation Room under the Moon administration, stated in a message sent to the media that Kim had submitted a complaint against lawmaker Bae to the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on charges of spreading false information and defamation.
Lawmaker Bae announced in materials distributed to the media on the 31st of last month that it was confirmed that Kim used the presidential aircraft during her 3-night, 4-day visit to India in November 2018, costing about 230 million won. According to the documents Bae disclosed, which include a private contract between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Air, the in-flight meal cost was 62.92 million won.
In response, on the 7th, lawmaker Yoon held a press briefing and rebutted that the 'pure in-flight meal' cost, excluding transportation and storage fees, was 21.67 million won.
Lawmaker Bae also claimed that Kim's visit to India was a de facto 'self-invitation,' as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time first inquired with the Indian side about inviting Kim.
In response, Do Jong-hwan, a former lawmaker and then Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, revealed the invitation letter sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a media interview, emphasizing that "Kim visited after receiving an invitation from the Indian side."
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