It is said that Minister Han Dong-hoon's personal information was leaked, and the investigating police said that an MBC reporter was involved, and they began to search for it. Police attempted to seize MBC's headquarters, but were stopped by union members and the search warrant was not executed. The MBC reporter who was the target of the seizure and search had previously reported on the controversy over President Yoon Suk-yeol's foul language last year, so there is also a controversy over the retaliatory investigation.
Police seize MBC reporter... MBC withdraws from confrontation
The police began a search and seizure of MBC reporter Lim Hyun-joo, suspecting him of his involvement in the "leakage of Attorney General Han Dong-hoon's personal information." In addition to confiscating Mr. Lim's mobile phone and home, the economic team of MBC's newsroom, to which Mr. Lim belongs, was also searched.
Police arrived at the MBC headquarters around 11:40 a.m., and a lobbying standoff began as members of the MBC headquarters of the national media union gathered and the lobbying confrontation began. The union members shouted, 'Go back! It's an unfair takeover of the air!' Holding a hand sign that read, "Police were prevented from entering."
Lee Ho-chan, chairman of the union, said, "If it weren't for Minister Han Dong-hoon, if it weren't for MBC, would they have confiscated and searched it?"
The police, on the other hand, said, "It's not for us to answer," and "We're here to execute a warrant that was duly charged and issued. I'm not here for an interview," and "I'm going to interfere with the execution of official duties or get out of the way."
Chairman Lee Ho-chan: The Economic Team of the Press Bureau (which announced the execution of the warrant) contains important information from a large number of reporters. Media organizations have an obligation to protect their sources. Is it right to seize and search this space for allegedly leaking the personal information of a minister? There is no choice but to protest.
▶ Police: I'm not obligated to answer and it's not for me to answer. I came to execute a warrant duly requested and issued. I'm not here for an interview.
At one point, there was a shouting and a snowy battle, but there were no major clashes. With the cooperation of MBC, the police checked the desk of the reporter's office. However, they decided that there was no object of seizure, so they did not execute the warrant and withdrew at about half past one o'clock in the afternoon.
The target of the seizure is the reporter who reported on "Biden, subtitles if you blow it"
The police started investigating because there were accusations. The investigation began when Kim Min-seok, a member of Parliament from Seoul, accused Mr. A of violating the Personal Information Protection Act last month for handing over personal information of Minister Han Dong-hoon to him.
The police believed that the data was submitted to the National Assembly during a ministerial confirmation hearing, but it leaked to the outside world, and that Lim was involved in the leak process, and they even launched a forcible investigation. The police suspect that what reporter Lim delivered to a reporter from another news agency passed through Mr. A to Ward Councilor Kim Min-seok.
Lim is also a defendant in last year's so-called "Biden, if you blow it, subtitles" case. During President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to the United States in September last year, he asked, "What will Biden do if the (US) National Assembly does not approve them?" It was the reporter who reported President Yoon's remarks.
MBC and its executives and reporters have been accused of defamation and other charges in connection with this report, and Lim is also a defendant.
Therefore, the MBC union is protesting, saying, "We cannot rule out the possibility of a retaliatory investigation," and "The seizure and search of MBC's newsroom on suspicion of leaking the personal information of individual reporters is an excessive investigation." It also calls for "unprecedented suppression of the press, regardless of the reason."
Han Dong-hoon: "Don't abuse personal information for the sake of hackoji"
Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon met with reporters and said, "Personal information should not be disseminated and misused to harm someone. If we just move on, it will be normal for this to happen to other people."
It seems that there is an intention to "harm the public" in this personal information leak case, and he further explained, "I received a lot of complaints because a biased YouTuber kept going to the person who bought the house he lived in 15 years ago, harassing him, and spreading that there was a problem around him." As a result of the leak of personal information, a YouTuber even visited and harassed the buyer of Minister Han Dong-hoon's house 15 years ago.
Reporter: There are criticisms that this is a retaliatory investigation.
▶ Han: It's a matter of interpretation. I think that's something you have to look at right now. I'm not the subject of the investigation or anything like that, and I'm a victim, so I don't think it's appropriate for me to go into more detail about that, but wouldn't you agree that you shouldn't disseminate illegal information and abuse it to harm anyone? It shouldn't happen to other people. That's not the norm in journalism.
One minister also took aim at the Democratic Party. Turning to the Democratic Party, he said, "At the time of the Channel A seizure and search, the Democratic Party seems to have reacted differently than it does now. I think you should first check to see if there is any involvement of the Democratic Party in this."
Before meeting with reporters, Han issued a commentary criticizing the MDP for "clear suppression of the press" and "retaliatory investigation for reports that made the regime uncomfortable," which Han refuted by citing the case of media seizures and searches during the Moon Jae-in administration.
(The rest of the story is from the soup)