Special Counsel Team Also Denies NEC Reporting Allegations After Presidential Office Rebuttal
The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae on the 30th refuted allegations raised by the People Power Party that "President Lee Jae-myung is receiving reports on the status of the investigation by the special counsel into the National Election Commission (NEC)," saying they were not true.
The allegation stemmed from a photo of a document President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter) the previous day. He shared a photo of a confidential document titled "Daily Comprehensive Situation Report" containing statistics showing a decline in voice phishing (financial fraud via phone calls and text messages) victims, but at the very bottom of the photo, a line presumed to read "NEC special counsel — recount of ballots at the Olympic Park handball gymnasium" was partially cut off and visible.
The People Power Party raised the issue, defining the phrase as evidence of collusion and surveillance. Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk pointed out on Facebook, "If the special counsel reported the status of its investigation to the president, it is a clear illegal act," adding, "If it was the National Police Agency that reported the special counsel's investigation status, it is an even more unforgivable crime." Rep. Ju Jin-woo claimed at a press conference and on Facebook on the 30th that the phrase was "powerful direct evidence" that the president is "colluding with or surveilling the NEC special counsel" and a violation of the constitution, demanding the disclosure of the entire report document and the circumstances of the report.
The presidential office explained that the phrase in question was unrelated to the NEC investigation. A presidential official said on the 30th, "What the president received was based on a police agency security situation report stating that the NEC special counsel had postponed its verification of the ballots at the Olympic Park handball gymnasium, resolving concerns about friction with rally participants," adding, "We express regret over claims that differ from the facts." The presidential office also took the position that regulations on the leakage of confidential documents are limited to matters of public service discipline for presidential staff, saying, "There is absolutely no problem with the president directly conveying information that is helpful to the public."
Independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon shared the controversial post, saying, "So leaking confidential documents is only wrong when public officials do it, but there is no problem when President Lee does it — I guess this is some kind of dynastic era." People Power Party senior spokesperson Park Chung-kwon also took a critical stance toward the presidential office's explanation.
