Prosecutors determine that Rep. Boo Seung-chan, who raised the 'perforation suspicion', is not guilty of defamation

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Jae-ha = After reviewing the case of Boo Seung-chan, a National Assembly member of the Democratic Party of Korea (former Ministry of National Defense spokesperson) who raised the so-called 'suspicion of perforation', the prosecution decided not to indict him, finding that the charge of defamation was not recognized.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office's Criminal Division 1 (acting Chief Prosecutor Kim Ho-kyung) announced on the 27th that it had disposed of 'no charges' in defamation cases under the Information and Communications Network Act against a total of six people, including Rep. Bu, former Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae, and the reporter who reported the related suspicions on the 23rd.

Rep. Boo, who was the last spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense under the Moon Jae-in administration, claimed through media interviews and his own book that 'Cheongong, a fortune teller, was involved in the relocation of the presidential residence of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration', was reported by the Presidential Secretariat at the time of the Yoon administration in December 2022.

Rep. Boo claimed to have heard from former Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin on April 1, 2022, that 'Cheongong visited the Army Chief of Staff's official residence in Hannam-dong and the Army Seoul office along with high-ranking officials of the Presidential Transition Committee.'

Former lawmaker Kim Jong-dae was also indicted after raising related suspicions on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory', which was hosted by broadcaster Kim Eo-jun.

The Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which initially investigated this case, found that the claims made by Rep. Boo and others were untrue as Cheon Gong did not visit the Army Chief of Staff's official residence and the Army's Seoul office within the Ministry of National Defense, and sent it to the prosecution in 2023.

The police specifically determined that Rep. Boo and others had defamed former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who was the deputy leader of the Blue House Relocation Task Force (TF) of the former Presidential Transition Committee and later served as minister in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

It was revealed that the person who actually visited the official residence of the Chief of Staff of the Army was Baek Jae-kwon, an adjunct professor at Cyber ​​Korea University of Foreign Studies and an expert in feng shui.

On the other hand, the prosecution, which took over the case, reviewed the minutes of the government audit meeting and reviewed the legal principles, and determined that Rep. Boo Seung-chan and others had reason to mistake the suspicion for fact and that it did not constitute a crime of defamation, considering that they raised the suspicion for the public interest.

The prosecution explained, “We confirmed that a person with a similar appearance to Cheongong while wearing a mask visited the official residence of the Chief of Staff of the Army along with the former Blue House TF deputy leader (former Minister Kim Yong-hyun), and that (the person in question) was reported as ‘Cheongong’ within the military.”

In addition, the prosecution returned the records of Mr. Kim Eo-jun and a daily newspaper reporter who were also accused but were not transferred by the police, judging that the police decision was not illegal or unfair.