Police Raid Server Company Over "Han Donghoon PPP Members' Board Incident"

The police have launched a compulsory investigation following suspicions that posts defaming former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife were uploaded to the People Power Party (PPP) members' board under the names of Hankookoon Han, who was then the party leader in 2024 and is now an independent member of the National Assembly, and his family.

According to the police and other sources on August 13, the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a search and seizure at the company managing the server of the PPP members' board the previous day. Last month on the 12th, the police resumed their investigation by summoning a former member of the party’s Public Relations office, who previously managed the board, to examine its operating system and account management. Now, the authorities have moved to secure additional materials.

Independent lawmaker Han Donghoon attended the '436th National Assembly (Extraordinary Session) 1st Plenary Session' held in June at the National Assembly plenary hall in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The members' board incident arose in November 2024 when a technical error exposed the authors' names on the board. As several posts allegedly authored under the names of Hankookoon Han, then party leader, and his family were published through some YouTube channels, suspicions emerged that they had written posts defaming the former president and his spouse.

The civic group Jayu Hogukdan filed a complaint against individuals using the name Hankookoon Han, as well as his wife and daughter, for alleged violations of the Information and Communication Network Act. The police even questioned the complainant, but there was no significant progress in the case for more than a year afterward.

The party's Central Ethics Committee decided to expel Assemblyman Han in January of this year. Subsequently, in June, Han ran as an independent candidate in both the nationwide local elections and the parliamentary by-election for Buk-gu Gap, Busan, and was elected.

Meanwhile, party Secretary-General Jeong Heeyong announced after a Supreme Council meeting that while the police had conducted a search and seizure related to the members’ board, management of the party members’ list is handled by a different company and is unrelated to the current compulsory investigation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.