Exclusive: Lawmaker who exposed colleague's texts at national audit referred to prosecutors on assault charges

Police have referred Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Woo-young to prosecutors over his disclosure of a colleague's private text messages during a National Assembly national audit last year, it has been confirmed.

The Eunpyeong Police Station in Seoul forwarded Kim's case to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office — now the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Office — on Sept. 7. Kim had been reported to police on charges of assault and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, but police determined only the assault charge was substantiated and referred the case on that basis alone.

On the personal information charge, police concluded that the incident did not constitute a leak by a person responsible for managing personal data and therefore found it difficult to recognize the alleged offense.

The incident stems from the national audit of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee held at the National Assembly on Oct. 14 last year, when Kim publicly displayed text messages he had received from People Power Party lawmaker Park Jeong-hun. The messages — "This is Park Jeong-hun. Please give me a call" (sent Sept. 2) and "Ugh, you pathetic little punk" (sent Sept. 5) — were shown alongside Park's personal mobile phone number.

The rift between the two lawmakers had erupted at a standing committee meeting in early September last year. Kim reportedly made insulting remarks toward Park during the session, and a confrontation involving profanity and a physical altercation broke out when Kim entered an area where opposition lawmakers had gathered.

Park subsequently sent Kim the text messages in an attempt at reconciliation but received no reply. Days later, Kim mentioned Cha Gyu-heon, a former transportation minister and Park's father-in-law, while denouncing the Dec. 12 coup attempt at a committee public hearing — after which Park sent the additional "pathetic little punk" message that became the center of the controversy.

At last year's national audit, Kim displayed Park's messages and said Park had "sent personal text messages to exact private revenge for a public question asked in the public forum of the National Assembly." Opposition lawmakers pushed back, saying, "No matter what, how can you expose a lawmaker's personal phone number at a national audit hearing?"

People Power Party members of the committee subsequently filed a complaint against Kim with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, alleging he had publicly exposed a personal phone number and committed an act of violence.