Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Chung Chung-rae denied allegations of a "deal between President Lee Jae-myung's case dismissal and prosecutorial supplementary investigation authority" recently raised on Kim Eo-jun's YouTube channel, announcing the party would respond forcefully. Kim also backed down, saying "President Lee is absolutely not the kind of person who would make such a deal." As the controversy spread rapidly, the Democratic Party leadership and Kim moved simultaneously to contain the situation.
At a general assembly of lawmakers held at the National Assembly on the 12th, Chairman Chung said, "Some are spreading groundless rumors about a case dismissal deal. This is unimaginable under the most democratic Lee Jae-myung administration, not under the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecutorial dictatorship regime." He added, "The party will mobilize every possible means to respond strongly."
Former journalist Jang In-su raised the "case dismissal deal" allegation on Kim Eo-jun's "News Factory" YouTube broadcast on the 10th of this month, citing a senior government official. The claim alleged that President Lee attempted to deal with prosecutors, offering to grant them supplementary investigation authority in exchange for dropping charges in cases related to himself.
However, Kim denied the allegations on his own YouTube broadcast and distanced himself from the controversy. "President Lee is absolutely not the kind of person who would propose such a deal," he said. "One reason he survived countless prosecutorial operations since his days as Seongnam mayor and became president is because there were no such dark dealings."
The Democratic Party filed a complaint with police against Jang for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. However, Kim was excluded from the complaint. This led to speculation that the decision considered Kim's influence within the ruling bloc.
Kim Hyun, chairman of the Democratic Party's Public Communication Committee, and Kim Dong-ah, vice chairman of the Special Committee on Countering Disinformation, held a press conference at the National Assembly communication hall that day. They announced plans to file a complaint against Jang "for defamation by stating false facts under the Information and Communications Network Act for claiming that 'a senior official attempted to deal with prosecutors asking for case dismissal.'" However, they stated, "We reviewed this legally, and Kim does not qualify (as a subject of the complaint)."
The People Power Party characterized the allegations as a "case dismissal deal gate" and plans to introduce a special counsel bill to investigate the matter. PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk said, "If the deal allegations are true, this is clearly grounds for presidential impeachment." He added, "Looking at the Democratic Party's push for a parliamentary investigation into fabricated indictments and the president's continued attacks on prosecutors, circumstantial evidence is overwhelming."