Hong Joon-pyo Accuses Yoon Seok-youl of Spreading False Rumors about the Involvement of Someone from Hong's Camp

[경향신문]

Yoon Seok-youl (right) and Hong Joon-pyo (left), candidates of the People Power Party presidential primary, speak at an event where candidates of the party’s presidential primary announced their three major policy pledges at a broadcasting studio in the ASSA building in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul on September 7. National Assembly press photographers

Lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, a candidate in the People Power Party presidential primary, accused former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl of spreading “a false rumor suggesting that a figure from our camp was involved in filing a criminal complaint,” and criticized, “It is a mean political behavior that he learned incorrectly.”

On September 14, Hong posted the accusation on social media. He suggested that Yoon’s camp was spreading rumors among journalists that a figure from Hong’s camp was present when Cho Sung-eun, former vice chairman of the United Future Party (current People Power Party) election committee, who tipped Newsverse on suspicions of so-called “encouraging criminal complaints,” and National Intelligence Service (NIS) director Park Jie-won met at a hotel on August 11.

Hong said, “He is scheming a counterattack by spreading false rumors suggesting that someone from our camp was involved in encouraging criminal complaints and telling reporters to verify the people (present when Cho and Park met).” He added, “This is a mean political behavior that he definitely learned incorrectly.”

Hong continued and advised Yoon “to proudly walk the right path. Just because you stand among the old and stubborn, do not be stained by them.” He said, “I know who is spreading the false rumor (about someone from Hong’s camp being present in the meeting of Cho and Park).” He also said, “That (recommendation to file criminal complaints) is not a secret strife within the opposition party, but simply a clash between Yoon himself and the truth,” and added, “No matter how pressed one may be, such a behavior is a politics of conspiracy that only worked in the days of the Fifth Republic.”

The previous day, Yoon Seok-youl’s camp filed a criminal complaint at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials against Cho and Park for violating the National Intelligence Service Act and the Public Official Election Act. They also reported one more unidentified person claiming that he was present when Cho and Park met on August 11. Reportedly, the complaint stated, “Many people have raised the allegation that a person from a certain election campaign was present.” Yoon met with reporters in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do the previous day and said, “People say there was another person present,” and added, “We included him (in the report), expecting the authorities to identify him after using various means.”

This day on social media, Cho also named the person from Hong’s camp mentioned as the person present at the meeting and said, “I have never even heard of him.” The person Cho mentioned was Lee Pil-hyeong, first director of organization (former head of agenda at the Yeouido Institute), who is known to have worked at the NIS. A representative of Hong’s camp told the reporter over the phone, “From what I know, he left the NIS years ago,” and said, “He has nothing to do with it (the meeting between Cho and Park).”