Former Senior Prosecutor Kim Sang-min, who was detained over allegations related to Kim Keon-hee, is said to have testified that it was "hard to view it as terrorism under the law" regarding the attack on President Lee Jae-myung when he was the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.
According to a Yonhap News report on the 20th, Kim reportedly explained during questioning by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-gi's team on the 9th how he came to write a legal review memorandum last Apr. in his capacity as a special adviser to the National Intelligence Service, arguing it was difficult to view the president as a victim of terrorism.
At the questioning on the 9th, investigators focused on whether Kim asked Kim Keon-hee's side for a nomination in the Apr. 10 general election last year. During the questioning, criticism was raised that the memorandum recommending non-designation as terrorism was an attempt to downplay or cover up the case, and Kim is said to have explained on his own the purpose for drafting it.
Kim reportedly argued that the attack on the president was a crime committed by an individual unconnected to a terrorist organization under current law, and that he merely conducted a legal analysis as a special adviser.
Under the Counter-Terrorism Act for the Protection of Citizens and Public Security (hereinafter the Counter-Terrorism Act), enacted in 2016, terrorism is defined as "crimes such as murder and explosion committed to obstruct the exercise of authority by the state or local governments, to compel acts not required by law, or to intimidate the public."
Although it does not stipulate the actors of terrorism, it mentions only definitions of terrorist organizations and their members. Interpreted comprehensively, Kim argues that crimes without an organizational background such as a political association are, as a matter of law, difficult to view as terrorism.