Seo Youngkyo: "Malicious Political Manipulation... Would Coupang Really Try to Lobby Me?"

Seo Youngkyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that she would take legal action and thoroughly investigate what she described as "malicious manipulation" regarding the controversy over her meal with a Coupang executive the day after the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate alleged external pressure not to indict Coupang in the severance pay case.

Seo Youngkyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking to reporters at the National Assembly on the 19th regarding a lunch with a former Coupang executive. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At a press conference at the National Assembly on the 19th, Assemblywoman Seo said, "A message has been made public and reported in the media, claiming that it was 'inappropriate' for me to meet with the president of the Korean Bar Association and a Coupang executive." She continued, "Why would I meet with a Coupang executive? I had lunch with the president of the Korean Bar Association, not with a Coupang executive," she emphasized.

She further asserted, "This is an attempt to shield the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the external pressure on the military investigation. Seo Youngkyo will not be shaken. I have done nothing wrong."

She added, "If Coupang tried to lobby me, wouldn't that make Coupang foolish as well? I will uncover every detail of this manipulation."

Regarding the media, she said, "I will consider legal action against reports that are not based on facts," and stressed, "I will pursue malicious reporting to the very end."