Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon flatly refuted the ruling camp's claim that the prosecution's investigation targeting Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, was a "targeted probe." The Democratic Party of Korea countered that prosecutors had compiled charts of Kim's personal and school networks from the early stage of the investigation.
On the 13th at the National Assembly, Han held a press conference and said, "At the time, Kim Seung-won was a 'nobody,' so who conducts a targeted investigation into a nobody?"
In response to the Democratic Party's claim that prosecutors had tried from the outset of the investigation to find a link between then-opposition leader President Lee Jae-myung and Kim, Han pushed back, calling it "news to me."
Han added, "It seems President Lee Jae-myung is involved in the 'oppa poison-lobby'," and said, "If you know anything like that, please make a public-interest report to me."
He also drew a line against demands to disclose the source of the audio recording tied to the lobbying allegations involving Kim. Han said, "I did not receive it from the prosecution," adding, "Even if I had received it from the prosecution, it would not be a problem, and it is something that deserves full protection."
He then aimed at the Democratic Party, saying, "You 'outed' a whistleblower and bared your teeth at the public," adding, "Teeth bared at the public must be pulled."
The Democratic Party responded immediately. Spokesperson Jo Gye-won of the Democratic Party said, "If Kim was someone nobody knew, why did the prosecution, right after opening the investigation, create a Daejang-dong personal-network chart and a high school alumni chart?"
The party continued, "Explain why the first report on the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety review case included a relationship map of opposition leadership figures," arguing that Han's claim "is debunked by that single document."
Regarding Han's remark that it would not be a problem even if he had received the recording from the prosecution, the party called it a "self-pardon" and demanded disclosure of how the materials were obtained.