Glancing Around, Then Secretly Snapping a Photo: 'Surreptitious Shooting' Caught During Confirmation Hearing

The camp of Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won has admitted and apologized after an aide photographed the desk of Representative Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party during a confirmation hearing.

However, the camp clarified that neither nominee Kim nor anyone else ordered or was involved in taking the photos.

The incident came to light after being caught on camera by media outlet PennMike during the confirmation hearing yesterday (September 15).

The footage showed Kim's aide standing behind Representative Joo, repeatedly looking at documents Joo was holding, and then secretly taking photos with a camera.

At the time, Representative Park Hyoung-soo of the People Power Party, the opposition ranking member, witnessed the act and raised the issue on a point of order; Representative Joo claimed on his Facebook page yesterday (September 15) afternoon that the aide's photographing constituted "surveillance" and vowed to take legal action.

Representative Joo asserted, "Nominee Kim's aide peeped at my question preparation from behind me, a member of the confirmation hearing committee, spied on it, and ultimately took photos secretly," adding, "Anyone can see that this is blatant surveillance."

He then warned that he would pursue strong legal action.

Kim Seung-won's office later issued a statement saying, "We sincerely apologize to Representative Joo Jin-woo for causing concern due to an inappropriate incident that occurred during the confirmation hearing."

However, the office explained, "The aide in question is an inexperienced young staff member in their 20s who took the photos due to poor judgment during the hearing and deleted them immediately upon recognizing the mistake."

The office added, "Regardless of the reason, we acknowledge that this was inappropriate conduct," and stated, "We make it unequivocally clear that no one, including the nominee, ordered or was involved in taking the photographs."

The office noted that it would take stern measures against the aide and work to prevent any recurrence.

It also requested restraint to ensure that the staff member's personal identifying information and photos are not indiscriminately circulated.

(Reported by Kim Min-jeong | Video by Lee Da-in | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News | Footage courtesy: PennMike TV YouTube) 
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.