The camp of Chong Won-o, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayor, pushed back by releasing a message from the person involved regarding the "assault case 31 years ago." Kim Seok-young, who identified himself as the person involved and served as chief secretary to the Yangcheon District Office head, said in a message released through Chong's camp that the incident began with a political dispute over the May 18 pro-democracy movement and that he led the assault.
Chong's camp on the afternoon of the 14th released the former chief secretary Kim's message about the candidate's assault case and rebutted claims by People Power Party lawmakers Kim Jae-seop and Joo Jin-woo. In the message, the former chief secretary Kim said, "The suspicions raised by lawmaker Kim Jae-seop and lawmaker Joo Jin-woo by citing a Yangcheon District Council member's one-sided account are not true."
He went on, "In October 1995, the seed of everything that happened at the café 'Gaae' in Sinjeong 5-dong, Yangcheon District, lies entirely with me," adding, "I was the one who arranged the gathering that day, and after a fierce political dispute over the June 27 election and the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, I failed to control my emotions and led the assault."
He also said, "Rather, Chong Won-o got entangled in the incident while trying to bring the situation under control on the spot," adding, "Right after the incident, when giving a statement to the police, I testified to the effect that I had committed the main wrongdoing."
Through the former chief secretary Kim's message, the candidate Chong's camp said, "It clearly shows that the incident at the time was a quarrel stemming from differences in views related to the June 27 local elections and May 18."
In addition, the candidate Chong's camp said, "Lawmaker Joo Jin-woo should not hide behind a voice-altered recording of the victim and should forthrightly reveal who the victim is."
Earlier, on the 13th, lawmaker Kim released minutes from the Yangcheon District Council and raised additional suspicions about the candidate Chong's assault case 31 years ago. The candidate Chong has explained that there had been a quarrel due to differences in perception of the May 18 pro-democracy movement, but lawmaker Kim claimed that the quarrel arose over an overnight stay issue involving a female employee, further fueling controversy.
Then on the morning of the 14th, lawmaker Joo released an audio recording with the victim's voice altered. The released recording included, "There was absolutely no argument because of May 18," and "I neither received an apology at the time nor forgave it."