Joo Jinwoo on ruling party complaint over golf allegations: "I'll file a counter-complaint against Lee and his wife"

Joo Jinwoo, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said on Oct. 28 that he would file a counter-complaint after the Democratic Party of Korea reported him to the police over his allegations concerning Ms. Kim Hyekyung’s golf outing. “I will file a criminal complaint over President Lee Jae-myung and his wife playing golf and get to the truth to the very end,” he said.

In a social media post that day, Joo said, “The Democratic Party is trying to cover up the golf allegations by filing a criminal complaint against me to curry favor with those in power. Since she did play golf, Ms. Kim Hyekyung cannot file a complaint herself and has instead resorted to having someone else report me.”

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jinwoo speaks at a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center on Oct. 27, calling for an investigation by a special inspector into allegations concerning Ms. Kim Hyekyung's golf outing. Oct. 27, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju.

Earlier, on Oct. 26, Joo raised allegations related to Ms. Kim’s golf outing in a video and photos posted on social media. He alleged that Ms. Kim had received lessons from a famous professional golfer and that the cost amounted to tens of millions of won. The professional golfer in question, however, said the allegations were “completely unfounded.”

In response, the Democratic Party’s Legal Affairs Committee reported Joo to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency that day on suspicion of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation) and Article 307(2) of the Criminal Act, which concerns defamation by alleging false facts. He is accused of damaging the reputation of President Lee’s wife, Ms. Kim Hyekyung, by making false allegations.

In response, Joo said, “It looks like they’re trying to muddy the waters ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary audit of the Blue House, but that won’t work on me. The more they do this, the angrier the public will become about this emperor-style golf. As soon as I obtain the complaint, I’ll disclose its contents and file counter-complaints against Democratic Party lawmakers as well.”

Meanwhile, the People Power Party expressed “regret” over the Democratic Party’s action against Joo and vowed a strong response. Choi Sujin, the party’s senior deputy floor spokesperson, told reporters that day, “What is wrong with an opposition lawmaker receiving a tip and, moreover, raising it in a standing committee? The Democratic Party, which has been making false claims and bringing up things that never happened, is guilty in abundance.”

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