Kim Soon-hwan, Secretary-General of the Committee for the People's Livelihood, who filed a complaint against Representative Jeong Cheong-rae, attends an interview with Hanmi Ilbo at the Mapo Police Station. ⒸHanmi Ilbo

Kim Soon-hwan, the Secretary-General of the Committee for the People's Livelihood (CPL), who filed a complaint against Jeong Cheong-rae, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in October, appeared at the Seoul Mapo Police Station on the 13th for an investigation as the complainant.

The purpose of this complaint is to request severe punishment for Representative Jeong on charges of abuse of power, instigation, and violation of the Public Official Election Act, should the alleged collusion between Representative Jeong and Jeong Myeong-seok, the cult leader of JMS (Christian Gospel Mission), be proven true through a police investigation.

Before the investigation, Secretary-General Kim Soon-hwan met with reporters at the entrance of the Mapo Police Station and stated, "This complaint was filed with the intention of investigating the connection between the Democratic Party and JMS, in response to the Democratic Party's appointment of a special prosecutor for Kim Keon-hee, who mobilized investigative powers through searches and seizures regarding allegations of collusion between the Unification Church and other religious groups and the People Power Party's leader election."

He further conveyed to reporters, "Despite the public and media raising suspicions about the connection between Representative Jeong Cheong-rae, the incumbent party leader, and JMS, the Democratic Party, including its leader, is responding unreasonably by filing complaints against media outlets that raise these suspicions, using their minor power as a weapon. This is an act of deceiving the public and 'the public's right to know.' The Democratic Party must realize that respect for reporters is respect for the public. Power is temporary, but reporters and the public are eternal. We request that they recognize the common sense that Representative Jeong and the Democratic Party can possess honor and power because the public exists."

Kim Soon-hwan, Secretary-General of the Committee for the People's Livelihood, who filed a complaint against Representative Jeong Cheong-rae, makes a statement at the Mapo Police Station. ⒸHanmi IlboHe also stated, "As someone who receives a salary from taxpayer money, I have an obligation to clarify suspicions. How many children would there be in a village where only 90 households live? In the past, people were so close that they knew how many spoons their neighbors had. It is impossible for Jeong Cheong-rae and Jeong Myeong-seok to not know each other. If Representative Jeong is innocent, he should have revealed that he was from the same village as Jeong Myeong-seok when the suspicion of collusion was raised."

Meanwhile, the CPL stated in their complaint filed with the police on the 23rd of last month that "The reasonable suspicion regarding the collusive relationship between the accused, Jeong Cheong-rae, the leader of the Democratic Party, and Jeong Myeong-seok of JMS is a matter concerning the connection not just between a politician and a religious figure, but between the leader of a major political party and a perpetrator who caused social unrest due to sexual misconduct allegations."

Editorial Department