Han says $0.99 copyright use was authorized; raises 'dad's connections' allegation against Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's son; revives Choo Mi-ae military leave controversy
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon hit back sharply at the Democratic Party of Korea on Saturday, dismissing as "Democratic Party delusions" allegations that his daughter violated copyright law and that he interfered in the investigation into the matter. Han said the work in question had been used with prior authorization from the copyright holder and insisted there was no wrongdoing. He also went on the offensive, raising past controversies involving the children of Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok and Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae.
In a Facebook post Saturday, Han said the so-called "$0.99 copyright smear campaign" — in which the Democratic Party had collectively gone after him — involved a work for which written consent had already been obtained from the foreign copyright holder.
"During the confirmation hearing, the Democratic Party simply filed indiscriminate complaints. There was nothing problematic to begin with," he said, adding, "So there is nothing to cover up or not cover up."
He also said the Democratic Party was not spreading false claims out of ignorance but was doing so knowingly, and had long practiced that kind of politics.
Han drew a parallel to what he described as 18 years of false claims by Democratic Party forces that the investigation into former President Roh Moo-hyun's family — over allegations involving 300 million won in Piaget items and hundreds of millions of won in other payments — had been fabricated, arguing the party knew those allegations were not fabricated.
He cited footage from his 2022 justice minister confirmation hearing as evidence, claiming that Democratic Party lawmakers present at the time were already aware that he had obtained permission from the copyright holder and that the use was not for commercial purposes.
Han also suggested that the Democratic Party's repeated challenges were not unrelated to directives from party leader Kim Min-seok.
Referencing notes from Kim's past notebook bearing phrases such as "Han Dong-hoon OUT" and "Han Dong-hoon file," Han said, "The result of the Democratic Party regime swarming in like a pack of dogs is truly pathetic and embarrassing."
Han argued that if the Democratic Party intended to apply such scrutiny to him, controversies surrounding the families of key ruling-camp figures deserved even stricter examination by the same standard.
He raised the case of Kim Min-seok's son, who, while a high school senior, was credited as the inspiration for an anti-plagiarism bill that more than 10 Democratic Party lawmakers co-sponsored — including Kim himself. Han called it a textbook case of a public official exploiting his position for personal family benefit, saying, "Does this make any sense by ordinary public standards?"
Han also questioned Kim's son's overseas internship record, claiming the son was reported to have worked as an intern at the University of Hong Kong for seven months while still a high school senior, yet the school he attended had no leave-of-absence system for overseas university internships. Han called on Kim and the Democratic Party lawmakers who co-sponsored the bill to explain how the Hong Kong internship was possible.
Han also revived the controversy over the military leave taken by Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's son during his military service.
He recalled that while Choo was serving as Democratic Party leader, her son — who was serving in the KATUSA unit — had taken two consecutive sick leaves, during which she passed a military support officer's contact information to her aide and had the aide reach out to her son.
Han then took issue with the sequence of events in which, even after being told that extending the sick leave would be difficult, her son tacked on personal leave and returned to duty four days later.
Han questioned whether ordinary soldiers would have been permitted to do the same, pressing the issue of the military leave controversy surrounding Choo's son once more.
Han told the Democratic Party to "keep swarming in like a pack of dogs," signaling he had no intention of backing down.
The dispute arose after the Democratic Party demanded an investigation into whether outside pressure had been applied during the probe into allegations that Han's daughter had fabricated academic credentials while he was serving as justice minister.
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Gyun-taek said at a national audit session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Thursday that police had requested international criminal justice cooperation with the United States in November 2022 to investigate allegations against Han's daughter, but that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office had returned the request just 11 days after receiving it.
The investigation at the time included allegations that Han's daughter had used math problems created by someone else to produce an e-book and sold it for $0.99, in potential violation of copyright law. Police ultimately closed the case without referral to prosecutors in December 2023, finding no grounds for charges.
Park said it was unusual that prosecutors had not forwarded the international cooperation request to the Justice Ministry's International Criminal Affairs Division, and argued there was a need to determine whether abuse of authority had occurred.
In response, acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-su said he was hearing of the allegation for the first time and would confirm the details and circumstances through the relevant agencies before reviewing any necessary measures.
Also Saturday, Democratic Party chief spokesperson Park Seong-jun, floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee and spokesperson Jo Gye-won jointly called on independent lawmaker Han to clarify whether he had intervened in the investigation into his daughter's alleged fabrication of academic credentials.
go@heraldcorp.com
