Joo Jinwoo: "Confidential Blue House Document Proves NEC Report... Must Be Fully Disclosed"

"President Lee's Disclosed Document... Must Respond Directly"

Assemblyman Joo Jinwoo of the People Power Party on September 30 criticized President Lee Jaemyung, arguing that the inclusion of a section related to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the National Election Commission in the “Daily Comprehensive Situation Report” document posted on the president’s social media serves as “strong evidence that the president is colluding with or surveilling the special counsel.”

Yonhap News Agency

At a press conference held at the National Assembly’s briefing room that afternoon, Assemblyman Joo said, “In the classified document from the Presidential Office that President Lee personally released on social media, the phrase ‘Election Commission special prosecutor, vote recount at Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium’ was revealed.” He claimed, “The leaked phrase was inadvertently exposed while cropping the document photo,” and further criticized the president, stating, “This is a grave breach of constitutional order that tramples on the independence of the special prosecutor and constitutes a clear crime.”

The previous day, President Lee had shared results of a crackdown on voice phishing through his social media account and attached part of a document titled “Daily Comprehensive Situation Report.” In the shared image, the phrase mentioned by Assemblyman Joo appeared, though it was more than half-cut horizontally.

Assemblyman Joo questioned, “Why was the president receiving daily reports on the status of the Election Commission special prosecutor’s investigation?” Stressing that the document was released directly by the president, he demanded, “The president himself must respond.” He also called for the public release of the original, uncropped document and all documents related to the special prosecutor previously received, and urged a request for a special audit into potential Presidential Office intervention in the investigation.

Regarding the special prosecutor, Assemblyman Joo stated, “The special prosecutor was created to safeguard the people’s votes,” and rebuked, “The special prosecutor, funded by taxpayers, is not meant to act as the eyes and ears of those in power.” He added, “Do not be swayed by those in power—fulfill only the people’s mandate to protect suffrage.”

In response, the Presidential Office expressed regret, clarifying that the content in question was based on a public security report from the National Police Agency regarding the Handball Gymnasium and bore no relation to the special prosecutor’s investigation. The Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Election Commission commented, “We do not know the details or context,” adding, “We will continue to conduct the investigation independently with no political considerations.”

On the same day, Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, posted on social media, “If the special prosecutor reported on the investigation status to the president, that would be a clear violation of the law,” and added, “The Presidential Office hastily explained that it was a ‘National Police Agency public security report.’ If the police agency indeed reported on the special prosecutor’s investigation status, that would be an even more unacceptable crime.”

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