Rep. Joo Jin-woo files criminal complaint against President Lee Jae-myung over leak of classified document
Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party has filed a criminal complaint against President Lee Jae-myung with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on charges of disclosing official secrets. The offense of disclosing official secrets applies when a public official lets secrets learned in the course of duty leak to the outside, and is a criminal charge punishable by a fine or lesser penalty. The grounds for the complaint are that President Lee posted a photo of a classified document on X. Joo submitted the complaint to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday.
The controversy began on the 29th of last month. On X (formerly Twitter), President Lee posted a photo of a 'daily comprehensive situation report' containing statistics showing a decline in voice phishing damages, writing that "police, the Financial Services Commission, the National Intelligence Service, and other public officials deserve praise." The document was a Blue House report classified as confidential.
Rep. Joo pointed out that the bottom of the document photo revealed a partially cut-off phrase reading 'recount of ballots at the Olympic Park handball gymnasium by the special counsel on the National Election Commission.' He claimed this was "powerful direct evidence" that the president was either colluding with the NEC special counsel or surveilling it. He had previously held a press conference raising the same allegations at the National Assembly communication center on September 30.
The Blue House expressed regret, saying the claim that the president received briefings on the special counsel's investigation was not true. It also explained that regulations on document leaks are limited to the work discipline of Blue House staff, and that there is no problem with the president directly conveying information useful to the public.
Rep. Joo flatly rejected the Blue House's explanation. "What is the president, a king?" he retorted. He then urged, "If you're going to make such excuses, disclose all documents related to the NEC special counsel that have been reported to President Lee so far."
As this is a case of a sitting president being reported to police on charges of disclosing official secrets, attention is focused on whether the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will open an investigation, and whether the Blue House will comply with demands to release documents related to the NEC special counsel.
