Han Dong-hoon accuses PM's office of spying; premier calls remark excessive

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Thursday that she would deal strictly with the matter if anything inappropriate had occurred, after independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon accused a staff member of her office of interfering during his press conference.

The premier made the remark during a National Assembly question-and-answer session on state affairs that day, in response to Han Dong-hoon's question: "A staff member from the prime minister's office lied about being an ordinary citizen and asked a question defending you at my press conference. Is that appropriate?"

When Han Dong-hoon presented a photo showing a Telegram chat room titled "Prime Minister + Senior Officials" open on the staffer's phone and asked whether the prime minister had ordered the move, Han Seong-sook said, "That is not the case," adding, "If it turns out to be true, I think it would be inappropriate. I will look into what measures are needed."

When Han Dong-hoon then asked whether the prime minister's office was "spying on" opposition lawmakers, Han Seong-sook rebuffed the suggestion, saying, "I think that is a very inappropriate remark."

During a later round of questioning, when Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Ji-won gave her a chance to explain, Han Seong-sook said, "Rep. Han was taking questions in a public place, and a staff member passing by appears to have asked, 'Why is Wednesday's prime ministerial order being called a directive on the investigation?'" She added, "When asked who they were, the staffer seems to have replied something like, 'I'm just an ordinary citizen.'"

She added, "If asking a question in passing at a public place counts as spying, then wouldn't every moment count as being spied on?" and said, "I think calling it spying is an excessive remark."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Han and Rep. Han also clashed that day over the premier's order to look into how investigation materials were leaked. The materials were tied to allegations that Justice Minister Nominee Kim Seung-won solicited favors over a new drug.

Rep. Han said, "Can the prime minister direct an investigation? Is it acceptable to intervene in a specific case like this?" He added, "One should know when to step in and when to step back. This kind of thing could backfire." In response, Prime Minister Han rebuffed the criticism, saying the leak of investigation materials "could also be seen as a matter of public official discipline, separate from the investigation itself."

During her exchange with Rep. Park, Prime Minister Han also said, "I do not understand which part of this was read as directing an investigation. Isn't everything being interpreted as an investigation?" She said, "The prime minister has the authority to inspect matters of public official discipline. This does not mean the Ministry of Justice intends to investigate Rep. Han Dong-hoon."