Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party again claimed that President Lee Jae-myung and first lady Kim Hea-kyung filmed the TV variety show "Please take care of my refrigerator (Naengbuhae)" after a fire broke out at the Daejeon National Information Resources Service (NIRS), and released additional related evidence. As for the presidential office, which signaled legal action, he said he would "respond in kind" and filed a criminal complaint against Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong.
On the 4th, Rep. Joo posted on his Facebook a piece titled "To get to the bottom of the Naengbuhae appearance allegation, I will file a criminal complaint against Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong," and said, "When asked about the timing of President Lee Jae-myung's variety appearance, the presidential office suddenly said it would take legal action. In the end, it conceals the timing of the appearance."
Rep. Joo said, "In a crisis where the National Information Resources Service fire was raised to the highest level, 'serious,' could the president and first lady appear on a variety show and laugh it off?" and added, "The government went dark, and the officials whom President Lee ordered to work overnight on recovery met a tragic death."
He added, "Spokesperson Kim Nam-joon confessed that 'the Naengbuhae filming was after the fire,' leading to news reports. It is a confession that yesterday's (Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong's) briefing was a sleight of hand."
Rep. Joo said he would file a criminal complaint against presidential office Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong to get to the truth. He said, "(Spokesperson Kang) defamed me through a false briefing," and added, "Legal threats don't work on me. I will establish the filming time of Naengbuhae through an investigation."
He claimed, "From multiple sources, I received tips that the Naengbuhae filming was 'Sept. 28,' after the NIRS fire, and that a gag order was issued to the media outlet." Rep. Joo said, "I am releasing the metadata of a photo showing a large police presence at the media outlet," and added, "It is a photo taken at 1:44 p.m. on Sept. 28. Police buses are deployed for presidential security or assemblies," attaching related images.
Rep. Joo went on to say, "I strongly demand the presidential office disclose the minutes and the filming time," and argued, "For two days they did not appear before the public and insist they held internal meetings at the presidential office. Under the Presidential Records Act, minutes must be kept. Disclose them and face the public's judgment."
Spokesperson Kang countered the previous day, saying, "Rep. Joo's post that 'when public damage was mounting due to the NIRS fire, the president remained silent for a full two days without presiding over meetings or visiting the site' is clearly the act of spreading false information," and added, "The presidential office is also considering legal action over the act of raising far-fetched suspicions to turn a national crisis into partisan strife and spreading falsehoods."