Aggressive Question to Han Donghoon Among National Assembly Reporters... Turns Out He Was a Prime Minister's Office Official

An incident occurred on September 10 at the National Assembly in which a government official from the Office for Government Policy Coordination was exposed after making aggressive questions to independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon and having their identity revealed.

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon is passing by next to Prime Minister Han Sung-sook after finishing government questioning on diplomacy, unification, and security at the 439th regular plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 10th. During a press conference with reporters on the same day, Han raised allegations of surveillance on opposition party lawmakers, claiming that a staff member from the Prime Minister’s Office asked questions without identifying their affiliation and pretended to be an ordinary citizen. Photo by Yonhap News

During the government questioning session at the National Assembly that day, Assemblyman Han addressed Prime Minister Han Sungsook, saying, "I was preparing for a press conference at the Rotunda Hall, and someone asked questions defending the Prime Minister and attacking me. The tone was very different from regular reporters, so I asked where he was from, and he replied that he was 'an ordinary citizen.' Do you know this person?"

On the chamber screen, the face of the man who introduced himself as an "ordinary citizen" was displayed, and it was confirmed that he was Director Lee from the Prime Minister's Office. Prime Minister Han acknowledged, "He is an employee of the Prime Minister's Office."

Assemblyman Han was engaging in a Q&A with members of the National Assembly press corps when Lee, a director-level employee from the Prime Minister’s Office, stood among the reporters and asked, "You posted on Facebook today that the Prime Minister is directing investigations. What do you mean by that?" It was a situation in which Assemblyman Han could have mistaken the question for a genuine press inquiry. While Han was answering, believing the question had come from a journalist, Lee interrupted and reasserted, "You only ordered verification." Assemblyman Han again asked about his affiliation, and Lee replied, "I am an ordinary citizen."

Yonhap News Agency

Assemblyman Han confronted Prime Minister Han, asking, "Is the Prime Minister's Office surveilling opposition lawmakers? Is it appropriate for a government official from the Prime Minister's Office to pose as a journalist, claim to be an ‘ordinary citizen,’ and ask questions during a lawmaker’s press conference?"

Prime Minister Han responded, "I do not know exactly what happened, but I will look into the situation." In response to Assemblyman Han's suggestion that the official’s actions may have been directed by the Prime Minister, she denied it, stating, "That is not the case."

Earlier, Assemblyman Han wrote on his Facebook page, "He pretended to be a journalist, then lied and said he was an ordinary citizen. It was truly absurd and bizarre."

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