Reporter Lee Myung-soo, who was accused of secretly recording a phone call with President Yoon Seok-yeol's wife, Kim Gun-hee, and reporting it to the broadcast, appeared today (4th) as a defendant at the anti-corruption and public crime investigation team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
Attorney Ryu Jae-yul, who served as Lee's legal representative, told reporters before the investigation, "(In the power of the people) you think that a crime is established, but we don't think it is at all." " asserted.
He added, "As for the contents of the case, the court judged that it was not a crime when applying for an injunction to ban broadcasting."
He continued, "In the civil part, the lawsuit has already started with (Mrs. Kim's side) claiming 100 million won in damages," he said.
The reporter entered the investigation room without any mention.
He recorded 52 phone calls with Mrs. Kim for 6 months from July of last year, and handed over these recordings to MBC under the premise of reporting.
In January of this year, Mrs. Kim applied for an injunction to ban broadcasting, but the court allowed broadcasting except for investigations related to Mrs. Kim, daily conversations unrelated to political views, and complaints to the media.
After that, MBC released the recording through the current affairs program 'Straight', and the YouTube channel 'Open Sympathy TV' also released the same content.
People's Power sued Lee, etc., for violating the Communications Secret Protection Act and the Public Official Election Act, saying that Seoul's Voice CEO Baek Eun-jong, reporter Lee, and Open Empathy TV PD planned in advance to secretly record the conversation with Mrs. Kim and asked questions. I did.
Apart from the accusation against the people's power, Kim also filed a lawsuit claiming damages of 100 million won against Lee and Seoul Voice of the People.
(Photo = Yonhap News)