PM expresses regret over staffer's sneaky attendance in lawmaker's briefing
Summary
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook expressed regret Friday after one of her staff attended Rep. Han Dong-hoon’s press briefing at the National Assembly the previous day and asked questions while saying he was an ordinary citizen. The official was later identified as a director-level official in the Prime Minister’s Office, and the office denied claims that he had intentionally sneaked into the presser. Han said it was inappropriate for a public official to ask questions without identifying himself at an opposition lawmaker’s press conference.
Key Facts
- Rep. Han Dong-hoon was holding a briefing about a lobbying scandal involving the justice minister nominee when the incident occurred Thursday.
- The unidentified questioner was later found to be a director-level official of the Prime Minister’s Office.
- The Prime Minister’s Office said a stern warning was issued to the official.
- The office denied the lawmaker’s claim of surveillance, saying the official asked questions while passing through the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly.
Rep. Han Dong-hoon, right, asks questions to Prime Minister Han Seong-sook during a parliamentary interpellation session at the National Assembly, Friday. Yonhap
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook expressed regret Friday after a member of her staff attended a lawmaker's press briefing at the National Assembly the previous day and asked questions while claiming to be an ordinary citizen.
The incident happened Thursday when Rep. Han Dong-hoon, an independent, was holding a press briefing about a lobbying scandal involving the justice minister nominee. Halfway through the session, an unidentified person asked a question about Han's criticism of the prime minister.
Following a brief exchange, the lawmaker asked back who the person was affiliated with, and he responded that he was just an ordinary citizen. At that time, he was holding a mobile phone that displayed a Telegram chat room titled "room for the prime minister and key senior officials."
That individual was later found to be a director-level official of the Prime Minister's Office.
During a parliamentary interpellation session later that day, the lawmaker voiced strong outrage, accusing the Prime Minister's Office of conducting "illicit surveillance" on a lawmaker.
On Friday, the prime minister expressed regret.
"I offer words of regret to Rep. Han and to the people that (the official) caused unnecessary misunderstanding and controversy by answering that he is an ordinary citizen," the prime minister said during a parliamentary interpellation session Friday.
"I think it was inappropriate conduct for a public official to ask questions without clearly identifying himself at an opposition lawmaker's press conference," she said.
Her office said earlier that a stern warning was issued to the official.
However, it denied the lawmaker's claims of surveillance, saying the official asked questions in an impromptu manner while passing through the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly, an area that anybody can access.
"It is not true that he intentionally sneaked into the presser," the office said.
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