Blue House Denies Ju Jinwoo's 'Confidential Document' Claim: "President Lee Was Not Briefed on Election Commission Investigation"

"Police, Not Special Prosecutor, Provided Security Briefing"
"Report Addressed Concerns Over Clashes with Protesters"
Despite Controversy Over 'Confidential Document Disclosure'
"Discipline of Staff and President’s Public Disclosure Are Separate

On September 30, the Blue House refuted the claim by People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jinwoo that President Lee Jaemyung was briefed on the investigation status of the Central Election Commission special prosecutor's team, stating that this was not true. The office explained that the content reported to the president was not related to the special prosecutor’s investigation trends, but was instead a police situation report prepared by the National Police Agency.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the 3rd public-private joint inspection meeting for the mega project held at the Blue House on the 29th. 2026.9.29 Photo by Yonhap News

An official from the Blue House stated on the same day, "The claim by Representative Joo that the president was briefed on the investigation status of the Central Election Commission's special prosecutor is incorrect,” adding, “The information briefed to the president was based on a security situation report from the National Police Agency, which stated that the concern over clashes with rally participants had been alleviated after the special prosecutor postponed the verification of ballots inside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium.”

The official added, “This has nothing to do with the special prosecutor’s investigation status," and expressed regret over claims that do not align with the facts.

Earlier that day, Representative Joo raised suspicions that the special prosecutor’s investigation status was being reported to the president, citing a photo of a Blue House document released on social media by President Lee the previous day. The photo showed part of a phrase at the bottom of the document presumed to read "Special Prosecutor for the Election Commission, re-counting of ballots at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium."

Representative Joo questioned, “Why is President Lee Jaemyung being briefed on the Central Election Commission special prosecutor’s investigation status?” raising concerns over the possible exchange of information between the special prosecutor’s office and the Blue House. The special prosecutor was launched to investigate issues such as the shortage of ballots that occurred during the June 3 local elections, and President Lee appointed Special Prosecutor Lee Taehan last month.

The Blue House clarified that while the expression “special prosecutor for the Election Commission” did appear in the document, both the subject and the content of the report were separate from the special prosecutor’s investigation. As the special prosecutor postponed the schedule for verifying ballots, the possibility of clashes with rally participants at the site became unlikely, and the police judged this as a change in the security situation and reported it to the president accordingly.

The Blue House also separately addressed additional concerns regarding President Lee disclosing a document labeled “confidential” on social media. A Blue House official clarified, “Regulations on the release of confidential documents apply only as an issue of public service discipline for Blue House staff. There is no problem whatsoever in the president directly communicating information that is helpful to the public.” The official added, “We regret certain behaviors that publicly assert claims without verifying the facts.”

The document in question was the “Daily Comprehensive Situation Report,” which President Lee posted on social media the previous day. President Lee introduced the government’s achievements in reducing voice phishing damages and posted a photo of the document. As the “confidential” label was clearly visible at the top right of the document in the photo, the opposition raised concerns about potential violations of security regulations.

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