Police have decided not to refer for indictment the case in which Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party was accused over his description of President Lee Jae-myung's stabbing attack, saying he "scratched his neck and then lay as if dead."
Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station said on the 22nd that it had decided on Oct. 30 not to send the case to prosecutors over Ahn's alleged announcement of false information under the Public Official Election Act.
On Mar. 19, Ahn wrote on his social media (SNS), "Backing out of the public debate on artificial intelligence (AI) that he (then Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung) proposed is behavior similar to lying as if dead after getting a scratch on the neck in Busan," adding, "It stands in contrast to President Trump, who shouted 'fight' even while bleeding after being shot."
President Lee Jae-myung, while serving as Democratic Party leader, was stabbed in the neck with a 12-centimeter knife by a man in his 60s in Busan on Jan. 2 last year and underwent surgery.
After the remark became known, there was pushback within the Democratic Party of Korea, including "Have you given up being human?" and "Retire from politics." The party's legal committee filed a police complaint against Ahn on Mar. 20, the following day.
At the time, an official with the legal committee said, "Lee suffered a serious injury that could have been fatal, with the left internal jugular vein in the neck significantly damaged, and he underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalized," adding, "Ahn, as a licensed physician, knew better than anyone how serious it was, yet he openly spread the false claim that the injury was minor."
In response, on Mar. 24 Ahn appeared on a radio program and said, "I conveyed my medical opinion as is," adding, "If emergency surgery had been necessary, he should have had it immediately at Pusan National University Hospital, but he took a helicopter for several hours and had surgery at Seoul National University Hospital, so it was not an emergency."
Police continued investigating the remark but closed the case, determining it would be difficult to apply the charge.
The controversy surfaced during a back-and-forth over an AI public debate that erupted after then Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's so-called "K-Nvidia" comment. On Mar. 2 last year, President Lee said, "If a company like Nvidia is created in Korea and 30% is public equity, we would not have to rely so much on taxes." After lawmakers from the People Power Party criticized the comment, Lee proposed a public debate.
Some People Power Party lawmakers expressed their willingness to join the debate, but there was no response from the Democratic Party of Korea. After the president announced a conversation schedule with Professor Yuval Harari, Ahn said, "Can listening attentively to a foreign scholar like a student be called a debate?" adding, "Dodging it is behavior far too similar to President Lee Jae-myung lying as if dead after getting a scratch on the neck in Busan. It shows just how shabby that is."