On the 22nd, People Power Party lawmaker Jin Jong-oh claimed the government is covering up evidence that more than 100 homemade guns and over 20,000 rounds of match ammunition have likely circulated on the market.
Jin, a former national shooting team member from the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly's briefing room that day and said, "Nothing is more precious than the people's safety and lives," adding, "The special counsel is informing the public of every single step of its investigation, but on this matter directly tied to the people's lives, they are conducting a closed-door probe with the public kept in the dark."
According to Jin, in connection with assassination and sniper rumors about President Lee Jae-myung that were raised during the last presidential election, police carried out a planned investigation and arrested those involved in illegal gunmaking and the buyers. During the investigation, police identified circumstances in which Person A, a regional shooting team coach, colluded with Person B, a former national shooting team head coach, to illegally supply 30,000 rounds of .22 caliber match ammunition to a distributor of homemade firearms, and they recovered the rounds.
However, Jin argued that a fact-finding probe is needed, noting that more than 100 homemade guns and over 20,000 rounds are estimated to have already entered the market and that the full scale of the leaked match ammunition remains unclear. He pressed, ".22 caliber ammunition is small-caliber, low-recoil, but at close range it is a deadly weapon that can fell a person instantly," and asked, "Why is the government not informing the public? Is it withholding the news for fear that the national image might be damaged ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit?"
He went on to argue, "The government must disclose the exact quantity and whereabouts of the match ammunition secured during the police investigation, and immediately begin a sweeping probe into related bodies such as the Shooting Federation and its supervising agencies, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism."
In response, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said, "It is true that we are investigating the case," but added, "It is not yet at a stage to be made public."