Amid various controversies including "abuse of power by a lawmaker," a truth battle between Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Kim Byung-kee and former aides is escalating into legal complaints. Allegations have been raised over airport protocol and preferential hospital treatment, but Kim says former aides distorted the facts and is pushing back.
◇Kim, "Yeouido Matdori" Telegram chatroom disclosed
On the 25th, regarding the string of reports on allegations against him, floor leader Kim said, "The informant is presumed to be a former aide who once worked with me and is posing as a whistleblower with crafty rhetoric." He then disclosed a Telegram chatroom created by former aides. He claims that when he notified them of dismissal after they engaged in inappropriate conversations in the chatroom, they held a grudge and raised various allegations. In response, former aides filed a criminal complaint, saying Kim illegally obtained Telegram information.
Posting on Facebook the same day, he wrote, "On Dec. 4 (2024), the day after the illegal martial law situation, I learned of a secret chatroom called 'Yeouido Matdori' created by six aides," adding, "Behind their hypocritical smiles, they were making light of insurrection, secretly photographing a female district councilor to sexually harass her, and mercilessly tearing me and my family apart with words unfit to be spoken."
In particular, he posted screenshots of the 'Yeouido Matdori' Telegram chat and said, "I will disclose only a very small portion. I excluded or minimized the harsh profanity as much as possible." He also said, "On Dec. 9, I notified the six aides of removal by authority," adding, "It was not due to personal conflict but because I directly confirmed conversations by aides affiliated with the Democratic Party that showed conduct and speech utterly unacceptable, trampling on the minimum dignity and courtesy owed to a human being."
Kim said, "Words, requests, and help that passed between us back then under mutual trust have now been disguised under the name 'gapjil,'" adding, "They secretly recorded our conversations and are indiscriminately disclosing them, slyly mixing facts with distortions and falsehoods."
◇Former aides say "the spouse hijacked the account and illegally obtained the chats"
By contrast, former aides to Kim issued a statement the same day, saying, "The chats were obtained by Kim's wife, who secretly installed the youngest aide's (Telegram) account on her phone without the person's consent," adding, "This is a serious crime in violation of the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection." They also said Kim is making false claims and that "he is harming himself."
They added, "Although the aides' private conversations included some profanity or jokes, there was nothing illegal, and the sexual harassment claim is clearly false," writing, "While Kim kept aides waiting in front of his home for over two hours, we only witnessed the inappropriate deviant behavior of Councilor Lee." They continued, "Most of the conversation content was about work and condemnation of corruption and abuse of power by Kim and his wife," adding, "Kim's claim itself is false because he excerpted portions in a way that made the context unknowable and distorted them."
Kim faced controversy after reports that he used a hotel stay invitation received from Korean Air and discussed airport convenience services with the airline. He said it was "inappropriate" and that he would return the lodging expense, but denied allegations that he received airport protocol services from Korean Air during a visit to Vietnam, saying, "That is not true."
Separately, additional allegations were raised that Kim's family received preferential treatment at a general hospital in his constituency (Dongjak, Seoul). In November last year, when medical-labor conflict was severe as most residents left the field following the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's announcement to "increase medical school enrollment by 2,000," Kim was said to have coordinated with the constituency hospital so his family could receive treatment without waiting.