Democratic Party Condemns Illegal Recording of U.S. Investment Report as "Crime Undermining National Interest, Comparable to Espionage or Infiltration"

Democratic Party Members of the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee: "We Will Pursue the Perpetrators to the End"

Warn: "If a National Assembly Member Is Found Responsible, Immediate Resignation Is Required"

Kim Minseok: "A

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, who are members of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee, condemned the "illegal recording of the report on investment in the United States," saying it was "an illegal act in direct violation of the National Assembly Act and a shameless crime that undermines the national interest by weakening the nation's bargaining power in external negotiations."

Kim Jungkwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, is reporting in advance on investment to the United States under the "Special Act on the Operation and Management of Strategic Investments between the Republic of Korea and the United States" at the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Venture Business Committee on the 22nd. Photo by Yonhap News

At a press conference held at the National Assembly's Communication Hall on the 23rd, they stated, "This report dealt with confidential matters such as the conditions of negotiations between Korea and the United States, and was therefore kept confidential in accordance with the National Assembly Act, the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Act, and other relevant regulations. However, almost immediately after the meeting ended, an illegally recorded transcript containing the entire content of the confidential report was distributed to the press corps, and specific details of the negotiations related to investment in the United States were widely reported by the media without any filtering."

They continued, "If confidential meetings are illegally leaked, how can we expect to receive reports and have discussions in any atmosphere of trust going forward? This incident is a grave constitutional violation that paralyzes the oversight function of the National Assembly as well as the overall administration of state affairs."

They added, "We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who committed the crimes of illegal recording and distribution. If, by any chance, it is revealed that the perpetrator is a member of the National Assembly, that person must immediately step down from their seat."

Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, also remarked, "Calling this merely industrial espionage is putting it mildly—it's practically an act of spying. In the old days, this would have been dealt with as an agent's incident. This is an act of self-harm against the National Assembly and an embarrassment to the legislature itself. On this issue, it is only right that each party polices its own members."

The previous day, on the 22nd, the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee and the Strategy and Finance Committee held a closed-door meeting to receive the government's key report on investment in the United States. The government selected a combined cycle power plant project in Texas, United States, as the first project under the Korea-U.S. strategic investment initiative, totaling 350 billion dollars.

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