Handonghoon Refutes Ruling Party’s “Targeted Probe” Claims: “Why Target Someone Completely Unknown?”

Ruling Party Responds:
"Why Did Prosecutors Draw a Network Chart Back Then?"

Handonghoon, an Independent lawmaker, refuted claims from the ruling party that he conducted a targeted investigation into Kim Seungwon, the Justice Minister nominee, over allegations of lobbying related to the approval of a new drug clinical trial.

Han Dong-hoon, Independent Member of the National Assembly. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

On September 13, Assemblyman Han held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "At the time (when I was Justice Minister), Kim Seungwon was a 'deutbojap' (a slang term meaning 'someone no one has heard or seen before'). Who would bother to target someone completely unknown for a prosecution investigation?"

He also dismissed as "news to me" the remarks made earlier during a press conference by Seo Youngkyo, chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and Democratic Party lawmaker, and Kim Uigyeom, a secretary from the ruling party. They had claimed that "There is evidence that the Han Donghoon prosecution tried to link opposition leader Lee Jaemyung to the investigation into the Kim Seungwon nominee from the very beginning."

Assemblyman Han continued, "It appears President Lee Jaemyung is somehow involved in the 'Oppa Poison Lobby.' If you know anything about that, I urge you to make a public interest report to me. I will make sure the two of you are protected from ending up in a steel drum," he said.

Regarding pressure from the ruling party demanding disclosure of the source of the transcript related to Kim's lobbying allegations, Han stated, "I did not receive it from the prosecution." He also added, "Even if the prosecution gave it to me, there would be no issue, and it is something worth fully protecting."

Assemblyman Han argued, "The reason they're trying so hard to appoint someone like this as Justice Minister is obvious: because he's the one who will drop President Lee's indictment."

On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Donga filed a complaint against Han, alleging he leaked investigation materials related to Kim Seungwon, and Han was questioned by police as a complainant. Han commented, "The police let the Jeju disappearance case drag on for months, only to find the remains later. But when the Democratic Party submits a baseless complaint, they proceed with the investigation even on a Sunday, like today."

He continued, "Now it's just me fighting against 200 people, so I have to fight 200 times harder than usual. Out of those 200, 180 are Democratic Party members, but there are also about 10 from Jang Donghyeok's pro-leadership faction." He added, "If Jang Donghyeok's faction isn't going to fight with me, then don't help the Democratic Party and hinder me. Just pin on a flower brooch and go play drums."

Meanwhile, Democratic Party spokesperson Cho Gyeweon said in a written briefing that day, "If nominee Kim Seungwon was so unknown, why did the prosecutors immediately draw a network chart for the Daejang-dong case and make a chart of Kim's high school alumni connections right after opening the investigation?" Regarding Han's remarks about the source of the transcript, Cho accused Han of "giving himself a free pass."

Spokesman Cho also criticized Assemblyman Han's comments that "the Democratic Party outed the whistleblower and bared its teeth to the public," and that "the teeth bared to the people should be pulled out," saying, "One cannot find political dignity in Assemblyman Han, who pours out such harsh expressions."

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