[Anchor]

An official belonging to the Prime Minister's Office posed as an ordinary citizen to question independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, leading to their identity being exposed. When lawmaker Han protested that it amounted to surveillance of a lawmaker, the Prime Minister's Office explained that the official was simply asking a question on the spot.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon.

[Reporter]

In front of the main chamber of the National Assembly yesterday afternoon (September 10) during the Interpellation session.

This question came up while independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has continuously raised suspicions regarding Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, was taking questions from reporters.

[Person A - Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker : (You posted on Facebook today that you would direct an investigation to the Prime Minister, what was the purpose of posting that it was a direction?) I will direct a strict investigation and verification. (You said verification, verification.) I said direction. (Yes, verification...) Which media outlet are you with? Which department are you with? (I am an ordinary citizen.)]

Prime Minister Han Sung-sook stated during the Interpellation session the day before yesterday that she had ordered an investigation into the leakage of investigative materials regarding nominee Kim, and this person questioned lawmaker Han's criticism of it as a "direction of investigation." Although the questioner claimed to be an "ordinary citizen," a check by lawmaker Han's side revealed that the individual was actually a section chief working at the Prime Minister's Office.

Lawmaker Han immediately raised the issue during the Interpellation session, launching an offensive against Prime Minister Han by pointing out that the section chief in question had given a heads-up about the question in a Telegram chatroom where Prime Minister Han was also present.

[Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker : It's the Planning and General Affairs Section Chief ○○○ at the Prime Minister's Office, right? Is the Prime Minister's Office conducting surveillance on an opposition lawmaker?]

While acknowledging the fact that her subordinate had asked a question, Prime Minister Han denied that it constituted surveillance.

[Han Sung-sook / Prime Minister : (The official in question) seems to have answered along the lines of, "I am just an ordinary citizen." If asking a question in a public place while passing by is considered surveillance, wouldn't we be subject to surveillance at every moment?]

An official from the Prime Minister's Office explained, "There were many people gathered in a public place, so the public official simply went over and asked a question, and it was not done with any malicious intent."

(Camera Reporter: Kim Yong-woo, Video Editing: Jung Sung-hoon)