Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon filed a complaint against Party Affairs Audit Committee Chairperson Lee Ho-seon on allegations including specifying false facts in connection with the committee's investigation of the party member message board.
Han's side said in a media notice on the 9th, "We filed a complaint with police on the 8th against Chairperson Lee on charges including defamation by specifying false facts, violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, and obstruction of business against the People Power Party, for releasing a fabricated audit result that made it look as if posts written by completely different people were written by Han or Han's family."
Han added, "The party affairs audit fabricated by Lee is clearly a political scheme and a crime," and said, "We will take the same stern measures against those who spread Lee's false claims as they are and those behind them."
Earlier, the People Power Party's Party Affairs Audit Committee, regarding the party member message board case, said, "The disputed accounts are identical to the names of five members of Han's family, and 87.6% of all posts were written from just two IPs, indicating signs of opinion manipulation," and sent the results to the Central Ethics Committee, saying Han bore management responsibility.
Separately, the Chairperson posted some materials on the Chairperson's social media (SNS), saying they were posts and comments written by Han and Han's family. The materials included not only Han's real name but also the real names of family members.
In response, Han appeared on a radio program on the 8th and, while acknowledging some facts, said, "They changed the names on hundreds of posts my family did not write to make them look like my family wrote them and then released them," adding, "The party must explain why it conducted a fabricated audit, apologize to the public, and hold those responsible to account."
The party's Ethics Committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting this afternoon to discuss the former leader's party member message board case and other matters.