The Democratic Party investigates 'Party Member Contact Leak by Myeong Taegyun'... Han Donghoon vows "Brokers will not be allowed to operate"

Se Beom-su "Party member list distributed to Yoon's camp with anonymized numbers"
"Careful investigation underway on whether it leaked to Myeong Tae-gyun"

On the 10th, the People Power Party decided to launch a fact-finding investigation regarding allegations that approximately 570,000 party members' phone numbers were leaked to Mr. Myeong Tae-gyun during the previous presidential candidate primary. Mr. Myeong is considered a key figure in the controversy surrounding First Lady Kim Geon-hee's 'nomination interference allegations.'

Seo Beom-su, Secretary General of the People Power Party, stated at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held at the Incheon Ganghwa Cultural Center regarding the document leak, "During the presidential election period, the central party legally distributed the party member list, converted into anonymized numbers, to each election camp?candidates Yoon Seok-yeol, Hong Joon-pyo, Yoo Seung-min, and Won Hee-ryong?to conduct election campaigns," adding, "There is no illegal matter at all." However, he added, "We will now gradually investigate how this list ended up with a person named Myeong Tae-gyun either after that or during the primary period," and said, "If strict measures are necessary based on the investigation, we will take action."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Representative Noh Jong-myeon of the Democratic Party of Korea stated in a press release, "Mr. Myeong, known as the actual operator of the Future Korea Research Institute, obtained the phone numbers of approximately 568,000 People Power Party delegates and members in October 2021 and conducted a public opinion poll for the next presidential election targeting them." Representative Noh said, "It is shocking that the survey was conducted during the main primary period when fair management of the primary is more demanded than ever due to fierce competition among the final candidates, and that hundreds of thousands of party member information were leaked to an external organization with questionable credibility."

After the Supreme Council meeting, Secretary General Seo met with reporters and said, "We will first investigate the people in the camps who received the USB containing the anonymized numbers, and if a more in-depth investigation is necessary, we can refer it to the party audit office," adding, "We cannot say that the leak came only from Candidate Yoon's camp. We will check where it came from."

Reform New Party Representative Lee Jun-seok explained via social media regarding Representative Noh's disclosure of the list, "The disclosed list is a list without issues." He explained, "All phone numbers start with 0503, which are usually anonymized numbers provided by the People Power Party central party to primary candidates during the final primary." However, regarding its use, he said, "You may want to ask the Presidential Office or Yoon's close aides." Representative Lee was the leader of the People Power Party at the time but has since left the party and moved to the Reform New Party.

Meanwhile, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, is distancing himself from the series of controversies related to Mr. Myeong. In his remarks at the Supreme Council meeting that day, Han said, "The public probably did not know that swindlers and political brokers like Myeong Tae-gyun and Kim Dae-nam were lurking sinisterly behind politics. This is archaic, old-fashioned politics," adding, "I firmly promise that such swindlers and political brokers will not be able to gain a foothold in the People Power Party." Han urged, "I call for a swift and strict investigation. Those involved should confidently, honestly, and openly disclose everything."