Park Sun-won, a member of the Democratic Party's Supreme Council, disclosed the identity of the public-interest whistleblower behind allegations of drug lobbying involving Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, saying prosecutors "used the whistleblower as an investigative helper to go after the Democratic Party." The move escalates the party's confrontation with independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon by targeting the source of his information. Han condemned it as "a clear violation of the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers."
At a Supreme Council meeting held at the North Chungcheong Provincial Government office on the 11th, Park said Han "is distorting the situation as if some righteous person exists and is staging a whole show based on a tip-off," and then revealed the identity of Cho, the whistleblower who first reported the Genencell lobbying allegations. Park said Cho was "the co-chief executive of a company that signed a management consulting contract with a broker surnamed Yang in 2021," and that Cho "not only sought a personal relationship with Yang but also flaunted ties to the People Power Party, boasting of closeness to former PPP lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong's camp and offering to take Yang to Gangneung," Kweon's constituency, "for introductions."
Park said Cho demanded money after losing money on an investment in Yang's business. Park also claimed Cho obtained undisclosed investment information about Genencell from Yang and invested in Sejong Medical shares, then demanded money from Kang Se-chan, the former Genencell chief executive, after failing to turn a profit. "After doing all sorts of things to recoup the losses and failing to get the money, Cho held a grudge and began indiscriminately filing tip-offs with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," Park said.
Park then raised questions about the prosecution's designation of Cho as a public-interest whistleblower, saying it "appears that prosecutors, despite knowing all of Cho's illegal conduct, designated and protected Cho as a public-interest whistleblower and used Cho as a helper in an investigation to go after the Democratic Party." He urged Lee Jin-soo, the acting justice minister, to "comb through all the documents once again and verify any criminality."
Han, meeting reporters at the National Assembly, said the disclosure amounted to "outing a public-interest whistleblower — revealing an identity against the person's will." He called it "not only extremely despicable but also illegal." Under the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers, disclosing information that could identify a whistleblower is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won. Han said "both Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok, who was present, and Park are accomplices."
Kim, for his part, defended the nominee at the same meeting, calling him "a better choice the more I watch" and pledging to "protect him." On Han's continuing allegations, Kim said, "The remnants of the prosecution resisting prosecutorial reform are effectively continuing their insurrection, and that is being exposed by Han Dong-hoon's attention-seeking politics."
