Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea strongly pushed back against allegations of a lunch with a Coupang executive, calling them an "act of malicious manipulation."
On the morning of the 19th at the National Assembly, Rep. Seo called a press conference and said, "A message saying that it was 'inappropriate' that I met with the president of the Korean Bar Association and a Coupang managing director has been made public and reported by the media," adding, "I will take legal action over the malicious manipulation and get to the bottom of it."
Rep. Seo, who sits on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, became embroiled in controversy after it became known the previous day that she had lunch with Korean Bar Association President Kim Jeong-uk and a Coupang managing director, identified as A. The meeting took place a day after Special Counsel Ahn Gwon-seop was appointed to investigate allegations that prosecutors went easy on Coupang.
A is an attorney and a former Democratic Party Chief of Staff. A, who also belongs to the KBA executive team, is said to have recently left Coupang.
Rep. Seo's lunch meeting became known through a Telegram message from Democratic Party floor leader Kim Yeong-gi. Cameras captured the moment Kim received a report from his staff about Rep. Seo's lunch meeting. The message labels A as a Coupang managing director rather than a KBA executive and says it is "inappropriate" for a senior member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to have lunch with a Coupang executive who is the subject of an investigation.
Rep. Seo countered that she met a KBA official, not a Coupang executive. Rep. Seo said, "It was just that people accompanying the KBA were there together. Why would I meet a Coupang managing director," adding, "I am at the forefront pointing out the problems of Prosecutor Um Hee-jun and that clique—do you think Coupang would try to lobby me?"
She also addressed the message received by floor leader Kim, saying, "I will file a complaint against the person who wrote it like this and circulated the text. I will track them down to the end and see them punished," and noted, "Isn't this a setup?"
Park Seong-hoon, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, issued a commentary saying, "Rep. Seo insists, 'I only met with the KBA, not with a Coupang official,' but the person in question is a former Democratic Party Chief of Staff who, while maintaining the status of a Coupang managing director, concurrently serves as the KBA's director of political affairs."
Park, the senior spokesperson, said, "To claim that such a person is 'not a Coupang official' is nothing but a far-fetched explanation that deceives the public," urging, "The Democratic Party must immediately and transparently disclose the circumstances of Rep. Seo's lunch."