Jo Woo-hyung: "I have never met Prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol, nor have I ever made him coffee"

‘Defamation of President Yoon’ False Report Trial Witness
Mr. Cho: "Joke About Drinking Coffee at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Became a Controversy"

Jo Woo-hyung, the key witness in the ‘Defamation Case against President Yoon Suk-yeol’ and the ‘Daejang-dong Loan Broker,’ testified in court that he never met President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was then the head of the Central Investigation Division 2 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office during the investigation of the Busan Savings Bank case.

The key figure in the so-called 'defamation of President Yoon Suk-yeol' false report suspicion, Jo Woo-hyung. Photo by Yonhap News

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Heo Kyung-moo) held the fourth trial on the 5th for Kim and former Press Union Chairman Shin Hak-rim, who were indicted on charges including defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.

Loan broker Jo was mentioned in a problematic Newstapa interview as a figure who said that President Yoon, who was part of the prosecution team investigating the Busan Savings Bank case in 2011 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Central Investigation Division, had made coffee and helped to cover up the investigation.

During the trial, Jo, who appeared as a witness, answered "no" to the prosecution’s question about whether he had ever been questioned or met by Yoon Suk-yeol, then head of the Central Investigation Division 2 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

Jo testified that the prosecutor who made coffee for him during multiple investigations by the prosecution, unrelated to the Daejang-dong loan case, was not President Yoon but a prosecutor named Park.

Jo said, "Prosecutor Park said, 'While investigating, I have some questions. You can just tell me what you know in a comfortable atmosphere.' When I said I wouldn’t go in, I was contacted through my lawyer," adding, "When I went, they served me a cup of coffee or tea or something."

He continued, "After the investigation, I told Kim Man-bae that I really just had a cup of tea, and that’s the essence," adding, "After that, Kim Man-bae said, 'You’re the one who went to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and had a cup of coffee,' and we talked among ourselves, but now that this has escalated like this, it’s driving me crazy."

The court announced that the bail hearing requested by Kim on the 31st of last month would be held after the witness examination of Jo.

Kim and Shin were arrested and indicted in July on charges of defaming President Yoon by reporting false information related to the Busan Savings Bank investigation and receiving 165 million won in exchange, disguised as book payments.