▲ Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks at a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on September 23.
The Democratic Party of Korea announced plans to take legal action at both the party and National Assembly levels, stating that the government's closed-door briefing to the National Assembly regarding the outcome of U.S. investment negotiations was leaked to the media and that a transcript was also confirmed.
Democratic Party members of the parliamentary Trade, Industry, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly today (September 23) regarding the previous day's closed-door briefing on U.S. investments, criticizing, "As soon as the meeting ended, an illegal transcript containing the full details of the closed-door briefing was distributed to the press corps, and detailed negotiation contents regarding U.S. investments were extensively reported in the media without filtering," adding, "This is an unmistakable criminal act."
They continued, "This is an illegal act in direct violation of the National Assembly Act, which strictly prohibits the disclosure and leaking of contents from closed-door National Assembly meetings, as well as a shameless crime undermining national interests that weakens the country's diplomatic negotiating power," adding, "This incident is a serious disruption of constitutional order that paralyzes the National Assembly's audit functions and overall state affairs management, and we will file a complaint immediately."
They also warned, "If the person behind the illegal recording and distribution is found to be a lawmaker, they must immediately step down from their seat."
Representative Jang Cheol-min, the ruling party's ranking member of the committee, met with reporters after the press conference and stated, "I have not listened to the audio file," but confirmed that he had verified a file presumed to be a transcript.
Rep. Jang explained, "We have clearly confirmed the very existence of the transcript," adding, "Judging from the fact that parts related to running the meeting, unrelated to the content of (the U.S. investments), were all transcribed, it can only be seen as having been recorded."
In response to a question about whether he had People Power Party lawmakers in mind, he said, "Under the circumstances, it seems far more likely that lawmakers rather than working-level staff (recorded it)," adding, "The specific facts—which party, which lawmaker, and through what route the leak occurred—are matters that must be uncovered through future investigations and inquiry processes."
Leader Kim Min-seok also said at the Supreme Council meeting today, "This is virtually an act of espionage," adding, "Secretly recording the details of the negotiations with the U.S. in the committee and distributing them to the media is truly unprecedented. This is what industrial espionage is."
He pointed out, "National interests are at stake, strategic judgments are at stake, and another country is involved. Yet, if briefings provided by the government out of respect for the National Assembly's judgment and the public's right to know are treated like this, we are throwing away our own eligibility to request government briefings."
Kim emphasized, "This is an act of self-harm against the National Assembly and a deeply shameful matter for the legislature itself," adding, "On this issue at least, it is right for the political party involved to clean its own house."
Earlier, the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Committee and the Finance and Economy Committee each received closed-door briefings on pending issues regarding U.S. investments the previous day.
Following the release of media reports containing detailed meeting proceedings, suspicions were raised that some attendees may have secretly recorded the meeting and passed it to the press.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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