December 18, 2024
Liberal broadcaster Kim Ou-joon reported to police for claiming plot to kill ex-PPP chief, U.S soldiers on Dec. 3
Published: 18 Dec. 2024
Korea JoongAng Daily
Liberal broadcaster Kim Ou-joon reported to police for claiming plot to kill ex-PPP chief, U.S soldiers on Dec. 3
Political broadcaster Kim Eo-jun leaves after testifying at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Dec. 13. [NEWS1]
Left-leaning political commentator Kim Ou-joon has been reported to the police for claiming that an assassination squad was dispatched against former conservative People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon during the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.
A liberal Democratic Party official wrote in a document made public Saturday that Kim's claims were from "a person with outdated and limited information" and that Kim added a "significant amount of falsehoods" to put a case together.
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The Public Welfare Committee, a civic group, announced on Wednesday that it had filed a police report against Kim with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing him of charges including sedition and defamation.
In its complaint, the civic group stated, "Not only has he incited social confusion with absurd and ludicrous claims, provoking both ruling and opposition party leaders, but his shocking rhetoric, which stirs up North Korea and the United States — destabilizing international relations and creating a sense of crisis on the Korean Peninsula — constitutes sedition."
Kim appeared as a witness during a National Assembly hearing on Friday. He claimed to have received information from a "friendly country with an embassy in South Korea" that an assassination squad was activated during the martial law crisis.
According to Kim, the alleged plan involved arresting Han, killing him during transport, and staging attacks on transport units detaining former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk and himself. These incidents were then allegedly to be announced as orchestrated by North Korea.
White house spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions from the press at the Foreign Press Center in Washington D.C. on Dec. 17. [KIM HYOUNG-GU]
Kim also said that there were plans to kill several U.S. soldiers to prompt Washington to bomb North Korea.
On Dec. 17, the U.S. State Department stated it was unaware if the alleged claims that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration sought to justify martial law by assassinating key politicians and framing North Korea originated from the United States.
"I will say with respect to the information that you mention, I’m not aware of any such information coming from the United States Government," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller at a press briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington D.C.
"And I would say with respect to those allegations, those are all allegations that ought to be handled by Republic of Korea authorities consistent with the Korean constitution and Korean law," referring to South Korea by its official name, adding that the said allegations should be handled "through peaceful legal-based mechanisms."
When asked about whether the United States knew of an alleged second martial law plan by a reporter from the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, Miller said, "I just wouldn’t want to speak to that or comment on it," reiterating that allegations should be "handled under Korean law, with respect for human rights, in accordance with the Korean constitution, and in accordance with the rule of law."
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, KIM HYOUNG-GU [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]
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Vladimir Tikhonov
45m ·
Claims are claims - in this case, these claims are not properly substantiated. However, rather wide circulation of these claims belies the degree of social anguish, fear and distrust. In other words, we have a good number of liberally-minded citizens who believe that Yoon was capable of deadly provocations on such a scale - and their beliefs are rooted in very, very long history of political provocation in South Korea. After all, there was an intelligence plot to provoke shooting along the DMZ to derail Kim Dae-jung election all the way back in 1997.
We have an appearance of a mature democracy on the surface. However, if you look deeper, then you see something quite different...
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