Sungjoo Park, Director of the National Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency, stated on the 22nd that he had "no further comments" regarding the allegations of concealing the decision not to refer the case involving Junseok Lee, leader of the Reform New Party, for his "sexually violent remarks."
Director Park said at a regular press briefing that day, "There is no need for the police to hide or conceal the results of the investigation."
Yoo Jaeseong, Acting Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, commented on the 18th regarding the allegations, "The final decision is made by the court, and the presumption of innocence applies," adding, "We are responding to press briefings and interviews, but we must be cautious when it comes to public statements about investigations." He further explained, "If the details of the investigation are disclosed specifically, there could be harm to individuals."
Regarding concerns that the police may selectively disclose cases to the media, Acting Commissioner Yoo stated, "We will closely coordinate with the National Investigation Bureau to balance the public’s right to know with the protection of fundamental rights when making public statements about investigations."
Previously, on the 24th of last month, Director Park had said regarding the case involving Leader Lee, "The investigation is underway according to procedure. We will reach a conclusion quickly," thereby concealing the decision not to refer the case. However, on the 21st, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency had already decided not to refer Leader Lee’s case.
On the 25th of last month, the National Investigation Bureau responded to the concealment allegations by saying, "We are reviewing whether there were any shortcomings in detail," and added, "This matter has not been finalized yet. We ask for your understanding."
Less than a day later, on the 26th of last month, the National Investigation Bureau swiftly concluded, "After reviewing the case related to Leader Lee’s remarks at the forum, we determined there was no problem."
In the investigation result notification, the police stated, "It is difficult to dismiss Leader Lee’s claims, and there is insufficient evidence to conclude that he was aware of any falsehood in his remarks at the time."
Leader Lee was accused of attempting to slander Yeongguk Kwon, the Democratic Labor Party candidate, by mentioning past remarks made by Jaemyung Lee, the Democratic Party candidate’s son, during a televised presidential debate on political issues on May 27.
Leader Lee was also reported to investigative authorities for specifically describing acts of sexual violence by referring to certain parts of a woman’s body.
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