Kim Soon-hwan, Secretary-General of the Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare [Photo=Yonhap News]

The civic group Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare (Secretary-General Kim Soon-hwan) announced on the 17th that it would file a complaint against NIS Director Lee Jong-seok and lawyer Seo Min-seok.

According to the Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare, the complaint concerns the transcript that served as the pretext for the parliamentary inquiry into the alleged "manipulated indictment case by the political prosecution." The committee expressed strong suspicion, stating, "Lawyer Seo Min-seok released the transcript during his candidacy for local elections," and questioned, "Wasn't the original intention of recording it to utilize it for other purposes later?"

Regarding NIS Director Lee Jong-seok, the committee criticized his inappropriate conduct as the head of an agency dealing with state secrets.

The Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare argued, "It is an abuse of power and a serious violation of the law for the NIS director to disclose information learned through his duties, such as his remark that 'upon investigation, the content was found to be different from the facts' regarding the illegal remittance case."

Kim Soon-hwan, Secretary-General of the Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare, clarified that the purpose of this complaint is to rectify the distorted parliamentary inquiry, stating, "We plan to submit the complaint against the NIS director and lawyer Seo soon."

He also emphasized, "Through strong complaint action, we will create an environment where the remaining parliamentary inquiry witnesses can diligently participate in the investigation and set the matter straight."

NIS Director Lee Jong-seok (left) and lawyer Seo Min-seok.

Meanwhile, in July last year, the Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare filed an additional complaint with the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office against related individuals based on a confession video concerning Lee Jae-myung's alleged "illegal remittance of $8 million to North Korea."

At the time, the Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare stated, "Despite the existing complaint regarding Lee Jae-myung's $8 million remittance to North Korea, we have decided to add all 166 Democratic Party lawmakers, including Lee Jae-myung, and Speaker Woo Won-shik as accomplices on charges of foreign exchange crimes, as we have judged that actions to constantly shake the judiciary and disrespect the public in an attempt to cover up the case have continued."

Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare Donation Account: Post Office 010108-01-014472 

Account Holder: Committee for the People's Livelihoods and Welfare 

Reporter Lim Yo-hee