In light of recent grave circumstances directly related to national security, baseless falsehoods and distorted information concerning this newspaper and its employees are being indiscriminately disseminated. employees express their deep concern and feel compelled to issue a statement to dispel unnecessary misunderstandings and prevent the pollution of public opinion. 

1. The ‘Hanmi Ilbo Reporter Death Rumor’ and ‘Involvement in the Kim Hyun-ji Case Rumor’ are Fabrications

△ The Reality of the Reporter Death Rumor: The rumor circulating online that "a Hanmi Ilbo reporter died while covering the Kim Hyun-ji case" is entirely false. No current employee of this newspaper has passed away. While there was news of the sudden death of Mr. Go, the editor-in-chief of Sky Daily, at his home in July 2025, Mr. Go was leading the publication's leftist editorial stance at the time and had no connection to the Kim Hyun-ji case. False rumors are being spread, distorting this information and linking it to our newspaper. 

△ Separation from Mr. Jo Jeong-jin: reported on the Kim Hyun-ji case in October 2025. In connection with this, the police, who had summoned and investigated him multiple times, applied for an arrest warrant for CEO Heo Gyeom in April 2026, but the warrant was dismissed by the court after a preliminary hearing. On the day Mr. Heo was released, Mr. Jo Jeong-jin visited the detention center under the pretext of a joint response to the May 18th incident, marking the first time they had met in nearly 11 months. Mr. Jo, who had not exchanged even phone calls or texts for the past year, is not in a position to know the full details of 's coverage of the Kim Hyun-ji case and is indeed unrelated to it.

2. Mr. Jo Jeong-jin has no affiliation with  

△ Dismissal from Sky Daily: Mr. Jo Jeong-jin was dismissed from his position as CEO of Sky Daily on January 15, 2025, and has been working as the chief reporter for T-M Internet News since May of that year. In contrast, 's CEO Heo Gyeom, Editor-in-Chief Kim Young, and Vice President Seong Dae-gun founded independently after leaving Sky Daily in July 2025.

△ The Lie of the Merger Rumor: Mr. Jo spread rumors that the executives of would join T Newspaper, but neither side even made contact with the intention of a merger. Rather, Mr. Jo expressed interest in joining , but after an executive meeting, we politely declined due to concerns about his loose speech and conduct.

3. Mr. Jo Jeong-jin is not the primary reporter of the spy ring case and is not involved in any litigation

△ The Fiction of the Lawsuit Rumor: The claim that Mr. Jo Jeong-jin is facing legal proceedings due to his coverage of the spy ring is false. Mr. Heo Gyeom (former senior reporter at Sky Daily), the primary reporter for this matter, is most aware of it, and Mr. Jo was never indicted, meaning no such trial exists.

△ Fragmentary Information and Distortion: At the time, Mr. Jo Jeong-jin was not exclusively in charge of reporting and did not participate in article writing at all, so he does not understand the full context. Mr. Jo does not even know the total number of sources involved in the reporting, as Reporter Heo never shared this information with him. The number is far greater than the eight individuals mentioned in the article. Mr. Jo Jeong-jin's knowledge of the spy ring coverage is limited to what he vaguely heard from Editor-in-Chief Park, to whom Manager Heo reported at the time. Mr. Jo, having completed his three-year term, was dismissed on January 15, 2025, but remained at Sky Daily until the end of March of that year when a new president took office, and during this process, he became aware of information regarding the spy ring. 

If Mr. Jo Jeong-jin gained any additional information later, he should have written it as an article. Mr. Jo currently holds the title of chief reporter at T Newspaper. If he had truly obtained new facts, it would be proper for him to report them as an 'article' in his own newspaper. However, instead of writing articles, he appears on other YouTube channels and makes public statements. This process leads to distortions of facts. Although it is unrelated to the spy ring case, as a result, his own newspaper suffered no damage from his recent remarks concerning the People Power Party, while the YouTube channels that featured him found themselves in trouble.

4. Fact-Checking Major Suspicions Disseminated by Mr. Jo Jeong-jin

△ The ‘President Trump Invitation’ Remark: Mr. Jo, under the pseudonym 'Cha Oreum,' a reporter, personally wrote and published an article for Sky Daily stating that the CEO had received an invitation from the White House. At the time, executives knowledgeable about American affairs advised against this ostentatious reporting, saying it was an "allocated invitation accessible to anyone through Korean associations by paying a nominal fee," but he proceeded anyway. Although there were many controversies regarding the authenticity of the invitation from external sources like YouTubers at the time, the executives remained silent as colleagues.

△ The Full Story of the ‘Codename 99’ Revelation: Mr. Jo's statement that "I was in the United States to attend President Trump's inauguration and therefore could not receive a report from Reporter Heo" is false. Mr. Jo was dismissed as CEO of Sky Daily on January 15, 2025, and the spy ring report was published on January 16th. Mr. Jo went to the United States after that. Mr. Jo was not in a position to receive reports. At the time, senior executives in key positions at Sky Daily, including the editor-in-chief, executive director, director of external affairs, editorial board director, editor-in-chief, director of management, director of publishing, and heads of various desks, had no doubt about Mr. Jo's patriotism. However, they all recognized the serious problem of him habitually leaking internal confidential information externally. Reporter Heo, due to this issue with Mr. Jo Jeong-jin, expressed his intention to resign in the summer of 2024 and took a two-month 'leave of absence'. 

While staying in the United States, Mr. Jo urgently requested, "I fear being detained at the airport upon my return due to the Chinese spy ring coverage, please provide me with the details." After consulting with key executives, Reporter Heo, considering his special circumstances, provided information (confirmed facts) and intelligence (unconfirmed rumors), strictly distinguishing between them. 'Codename 99' is not an actual operation name. However, upon his return, Mr. Jo revealed all eight undisclosed matters that Reporter Heo had covered, presenting it as an official operation name during a public lecture in front of 150 religious leaders. Around this time, information circulated on YouTube that the United States would announce something on January 30th, and it was then that Sky Daily began to be scrutinized. In reality, Reporter Heo had never cross-checked the timing during his reporting, nor did the articles mention any announcement dates. However, following Mr. Jo Jeong-jin's remarks, malicious public opinion demanding to know why the U.S. was not making the announcement led to significant disruption in the coverage of this investigation.

At the time, multiple U.S. sources provided high-level information stating that "South Korea is the 4th or 5th priority in the foreign policy of the Trump administration's second term." In retrospect, this can be understood as the order for Northeast Asia, following Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba. At that time, Sky Daily's internal and external information analysis teams evaluated that there was a high possibility of accurate information regarding the timing, considering the sources' access to confidential information. Based on this, Sky Daily internally judged from the outset that this matter was not something the United States would immediately announce.

It is deeply regrettable that Mr. Jo's reckless disclosures, despite the internal turmoil among Sky Daily's senior executives (excluding Reporter Heo) who protested his actions and his own confession to the senior executives, "I want to die of shame," he continues to make hasty public statements with his uncontrolled loose tongue, leading to leaps in logic and distortions of facts.

△ The ‘Captain Korea (Capco) CIA Affiliation’ Theory: The January 30th U.S. announcement theory agitated an individual named Capco, directly leading to him disseminating a phone conversation with Reporter Heo on an online community. This incident prompted executives to protest to Mr. Jo and request him to cease his disclosures. However, just one day later, when Mr. Jo made another revelation in front of 150 religious leaders, Capco approached Reporter Heo before revealing his identity through KBS. At this time, there were certain demands. When Reporter Heo refused, Mr. Jo summoned Capco to the CEO's office, and they met for only about 20 minutes. Confirming CIA affiliation within 20 minutes should be seen as a result of Mr. Jo's unique leaps in logic and imagination. If he had separately confirmed facts, he should have reported them as an article. 

A reporter should only speak through 'articles.' 

From the days of , there has been a sentiment among the executives: "Leftists can be persuaded and worked with, but people with loose tongues cannot be worked with." This is because Sky Daily dealt with sensitive national security issues. Regardless of the reason, Mr. Jo's conduct of habitually leaking internal confidential information over the past few years, causing considerable internal friction, was one of the decisive factors that led our newspaper to take a different path.

Mr. Jo is currently making irresponsible remarks at gatherings of patriotic citizens, such as the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Jamsil, and on YouTube channels. Notably, in the process, he is disseminating fatal information that could potentially identify some sources related to the spy ring case, which is a cause for serious concern. Although CEO Heo Gyeom faced the grave crisis of an arrest warrant application, he rigorously maintained the confidentiality and protection of the sources' identities. However, the situation where Mr. Jo, who did not directly cover the case but only heard about it second-hand, is casually leaking classified information externally is being closely monitored. Regarding Kim Hyun-ji, it was CEO Heo who was issued an arrest warrant, and Jo Jeong-jin is unrelated to this report. Furthermore, it was also CEO Heo who was issued an arrest warrant in connection with the May 18th incident. However, we are aware that Mr. Jo has also been sued and accused in relation to the May 18th incident. Therefore, we strongly urge Mr. Jo Jeong-jin to focus on resolving his personal challenges, including his current legal risks, and to exercise caution with any further rash statements. 

In South Korea, where freedom of expression exists, an individual's speech cannot be forcibly dictated. However, the act of carelessly disseminating classified information directly related to national security to an unspecified multitude is highly inappropriate for a journalist and is negatively impacting our newspaper. If you have something to say, please present it as an 'article,' based on thoroughly verified facts, not on polluted rhetoric.

This is a grave period where the nation's affairs take precedence. If social confusion and public opinion distortion, similar to what occurred during the past '99 Spy Ring Case coverage,' are repeated, this newspaper will take corresponding decisive measures. We strongly advise Mr. Jo Jeong-jin to be acutely aware of the social repercussions and verbal controversies (설화) his remarks may cause and to exercise restraint. 

△ P.S.: We clarify that this statement is entirely unrelated to the case in which the People Power Party's Party Affairs Committee filed a complaint against Mr. Jo regarding his recent remarks in Jamsil. Furthermore, has no plans to sue or file complaints against any party to avoid hindering the grand unity of the conservative camp. We also decline any external interview requests related to this statement. 

June 14, 2026

All Employees of Hanmi Ilbo