The Blue House stated, "We express regret over claims that are contrary to the facts," in response to suspicions raised by the People Power Party, based on a document President Lee Jae-myung posted on social media, alleging that the president might be receiving briefings on the investigation status of the special counsel on the National Election Commission (NEC).

A Blue House official stated today, "The briefing received by the president was based on a public safety situation report from the National Police Agency stating that concerns over clashes with rally participants had been resolved after the NEC special counsel postponed the verification of ballots at the Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park, and it is entirely unrelated to the status of the NEC investigation."

The NEC special counsel's team also stated in a separate press release, "We have no knowledge of the content in question or its background," adding, "The special counsel team is conducting its investigation independently and strictly in accordance with the law and principles, and we reaffirm that we will continue to investigate independently without any political considerations."

Earlier, President Lee posted a photograph on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday of a confidential document titled "Daily Comprehensive Situation Report," which contained statistics showing a decrease in voice phishing damages, writing, "Please praise public officials including the police, the Financial Services Commission, and the National Intelligence Service."
 
In the photograph of the document posted by President Lee, text at the very bottom presumed to read "NEC special counsel, recount of ballots in Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium" is partially cut off and exposed.

Citing the text on Facebook, Representative Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party demanded the full disclosure of the document, asking, "Why is President Lee receiving briefings on the investigation status of the NEC special counsel?" He added, "This is strong direct evidence of collusion with or surveillance of the NEC special counsel, an obvious crime that undermines the special counsel's political neutrality, and a grave violation of the Constitution."

Speaking to reporters, Representative Joo also raised his voice, saying, "Wouldn't President Lee have also received briefings regarding his trials or the abandonment of the appeal in the Daejang-dong case?" He continued, "By excessively using social media, he committed a blunder and accidentally revealed his wrongdoing to the public. Instead of making hollow excuses, the Blue House must reveal the truth and disclose the relevant documents."

Regarding the opposition party's criticism over President Lee sharing a document marked "confidential" on social media, the Blue House took the stance that "regulations regarding leaks of confidential documents are limited to matters of public service discipline among Blue House staff."

It further stated, "There is no problem at all with the president personally conveying information that benefits the public," adding, "We express regret over some actions of making public statements without verifying facts."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon shared President Lee's controversial social media post on Facebook today, writing, "I lost. I will cooperate in tracking down the Democratic Party's confidential leak. It is this person. I am sorry I couldn't protect you."

(Photo: Yonhap News)