(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Pyeong-cheon = On the 8th, the ruling and opposition parties launched separate attacks on the suspicions of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon's leak of investigation data and former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young's parole request during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Ministry of Justice.
The Democratic Party demanded a thorough investigation, saying that a lawmaker had disclosed an indictment plan, which was internal prosecution data, in the process of raising 'lobbying suspicions' against former Justice Minister candidate Kim Seung-won.
Rep. Park Ji-won said, “The prosecution plan (made public) by Rep. Han when he was the Minister of Justice or elsewhere is an important document, so it should be thoroughly investigated,” and “Rep. Han must take full responsibility.”
Regarding the suspicion of data leakage by a lawmaker, Acting Minister Lee Jin-soo responded, "The Public Prosecution Office is conducting a process to confirm the truth."
The Democratic Party also called lawyers Kim Jeong-hoon, Shin Dong-won, and Kim Jong-wook, who were in the prosecution's chain of command, as witnesses during the Seoul Western District Prosecutor's Office's investigation into suspicions of lobbying for former candidate Kim, and also questioned the circumstances surrounding the data leak.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Seo Young-kyo, a member of the Democratic Party, said, "Attorney Shin was a spokesperson during the time of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, and was the deputy chief prosecutor of the Western District Prosecutors' Office in 2024. If you uploaded a report and say you do not remember, it can only be seen as perjury."
He then asked, “Is there any way that a person named Han Dong-hoon could get hold of the processing plan and prosecution plan?” and pointed out, “You are the one who had this (document).”
When asked whether Rep. Han's disclosure of documents was illegal, Attorney Shin explained, "I don't know because I don't have the contents of the report. It's not clear whether the report I received at the time was that report (a public document)."
When asked whether witnesses, including Attorney Shin, are currently interacting with Rep. Han, they answered, “No.”
Rep. Park Kyun-taek of the Democratic Party pointed out, "The suspicions of Rep. Han's daughter's dissertation ghostwriting and inflating her volunteer hours are too serious suspicions even compared to the case of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter. The police applied (to the prosecution) for cooperation under the International Criminal Justice Act during the investigation, but the request was not even delivered to the Ministry of Justice and the United States."
The People Power Party attacked the government and ruling party over former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young's request for parole from the Blue House.
Representative Yoon Sang-hyun said, "The logic of the fabricated indictment of the money transfer case to North Korea advocated by the government and the ruling party has been brought to light in the request for the release of Lee Hwa-young," and argued, "Cancellation of the indictment by President Lee gives the North Korean Kim Jong-un regime leverage to manipulate the Lee Jae-myung government as it pleases. Cancellation of the indictment is no different from an act of betrayal."
Rep. Joo Jin-woo said, "Lee Hwa-young is said to be very angry in prison. It has reached a point where she is threatening defendant Lee Jae-myeong, who is being indicted as an accomplice." He added, "Isn't it right that the Public Prosecution Office should file an application to resume the trial of defendant Lee Jae-myeong?"
Rep. Joo claimed, “As Lee Hwa-young is making threats, a situation is happening where Democratic Party members are meeting with her out of fear that she might open her mouth,” adding, “The Democratic Party members are in a situation where whenever Lee Hwa-young appears, they almost bow down and don’t even meet with her.”
In response, Seo Young-kyo, chairman of the Democratic Party, refuted, "The Governor Lee Hwa-young case was all said to be a fabricated indictment by the special committee on state affairs investigation approved by the National Assembly."
The People Power Party also continued to criticize the Ministry of Justice's Future Committee for Respect for Prosecution Human Rights (Prosecution Future Committee), which was launched to investigate suspicions of abuse of prosecutorial investigative power.
Rep. Park Hyeong-soo said, “Isn’t the future committee going to investigate the truth and eventually cancel the indictment (in President Lee’s case)?” and asked, “Why is a state agency, whether a special prosecutor or the future committee, performing the lawyer’s work on behalf of President Lee while he is on trial?”
Rep. Kwak Gyu-taek criticized, “It is an illegal organization that conducts de facto investigative activities by mobilizing the prosecution’s investigative power in advance before conducting a special investigation to ‘cancel the indictment of President Lee.’”
Acting Minister Lee said, “(The Future Committee) does not proceed after deciding on any conclusion first.”
