Ministry plans 'no mercy' for LKP lawmaker Khang

Rep. Khang Hyo-shang of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) has his head shaved to protest President Moon Jae-in's appointment of key political ally Cho Kuk as justice minister at a square near Dongdaegu Station in Daegu, in this Sept. 17 file photo. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is showing no signs of dropping its criminal complaints filed against a lawmaker and a diplomat.

The prosecution indicted Rep. Khang Hyo-shang of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), Tuesday, for leaking details of a phone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump months earlier. A former diplomat, Khang's high-school alum, who has been fired by the foreign ministry for providing the information, has also been indicted.

In early May last year, Khang held a press conference at the National Assembly, where he claimed Moon had asked Trump to visit Seoul right after his visit to Tokyo in late May. Cheong Wa Dae denied Khang's claim and the foreign ministry filed a criminal complaint against him and the diplomat for illegally collecting and mishandling secret diplomatic information. Trump visited Seoul in late June.

Khang also spread the leaked details on online platforms including Facebook.

According to Criminal Act Article 113, which covers the divulgence of diplomatic secrets, “a person who divulges diplomatic secrets shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won” which “shall apply to a person who searches for or collects diplomatic secrets for the purpose of divulging them.” The information from phone conversations between presidents is categorized as a Level III diplomatic state secret.

Khang's National Assembly immunity is likely to be overruled, as the information he leaked was classified as a state secret; and he posted it on social media, which is seen as an activity outside the Assembly.

Khang phoned the diplomat working at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., the day before the press conference.

Early December last year, the diplomat filed a suit against the foreign ministry for wrongful dismissal. He said he did not intend to leak the information but was delivering correct facts regarding foreign ministry policy in replying to questions from Khang.

But Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the ministry viewed the diplomat as having a certain motivation in disclosing the information. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has also condemned Khang for disclosing diplomatic state secrets for political purposes.