Jang Dong-hyeok demands Lee government clarify stance on China amid spy case surge

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on Thursday called on the Lee Jae-myung government to declare whether it stands with China or with the Korean people, demanding a firm response to what he described as confirmed Chinese electoral interference and espionage activity.

Speaking at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Jang said Chinese spy cases are being uncovered one after another, yet immediate prosecution under espionage law remains impossible because an amendment to the relevant criminal code only passed the National Assembly in February this year.

He cited a series of incidents — including a drone surveillance operation near a naval base in Busan and the leak of a list of undercover agents by a Defense Intelligence Command civilian employee — as evidence of repeated Chinese espionage. Industrial spying targeting the semiconductor sector and other industries had also been detected on multiple occasions, he said. "We argued for revising the espionage law, but the Democratic Party delayed action on the bill with every excuse imaginable," Jang said.

He added that the National Intelligence Service had been stripped of its counterintelligence investigation authority and the military's Defense Counterintelligence Command had been disbanded. "South Korea has gone from a country that cannot conduct spy investigations to a country that chooses not to," he said. "They are trying to turn this country into a paradise for spies."

Jang also cited research findings showing that roughly 24,000 malicious accounts linked to foreign forces were identified among approximately 112 million Naver comments collected over 10 years. Activity by new malicious accounts surged 51 percent during election periods, he noted. "This would be clear evidence that foreign forces are interfering in our elections through opinion manipulation," he said.

"Should we not be blocking any country that attempts to interfere in South Korean elections through opinion manipulation?" he said, and went on to say the party would push strongly for the introduction of an online comment disclosure system.

Turning to the National Election Commission's dismissal of the party's election appeals, Jang said the outcome had been foreseeable from the moment the NEC sent a circular to provincial election commissions urging them to reject the appeals. "Shortages of ballots and evidence of electronic manipulation have come to light, yet they are handing out a self-issued absolution — saying they will dismiss the appeals because we failed to prove the results were affected," he said.

Comparing the NEC's decision to a refereeing error in sports, Jang said refusing to review the evidence was no different from refusing to use video review to check a disputed call. "The public will not accept this either," he said. "We will appoint a proper special prosecutor and bring the full truth to light."