Gov't to file criminal complaints in leak case

By Lee Min-hyung

Rep. Khang Hyo-shang

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will file criminal complaints against a diplomat and an opposition lawmaker regarding the leak of confidential information from a telephone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump, it said Tuesday.

“Considering the graveness of the incident, we decided to file criminal complaints against the diplomat and lawmaker Rep. Khang Hyo-shang from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP),” an official from the ministry said.

Earlier this month, the ranking diplomat, working at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., leaked the information categorized as the third-highest level of state diplomatic secrecy, to the lawmaker. Both attended the same high school.

With the controversy showing no signs of abating, the diplomat returned home Sunday afternoon to undergo questioning at the ministry.

The ministry launched an internal disciplinary committee this week to uncover the facts behind the incident and determine a penalty for the diplomat. The ministry plans to finalize the exact punishment Thursday.

On Tuesday, the diplomat released a statement sharing a detailed account of the incident.

He said he has not had any close contact with Khang for more than 30 years after they graduated from the same university.

“I met Khang this February when the National Assembly's special delegation visited the U.S.,” the diplomat said.

He said he thought it was the right thing for a diplomat to get the facts straight regarding the foreign ministry's policy, so he replied to some questions from Khang over Trump's possible visit to Seoul this month.

He said he did not know Khang was planning to hold a press conference and use the information politically.