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Published on 11 Jul 2017
이준서 구속...국민의당 윗선 '정조준'
A former official of the center-left People's Party has been arrested for his alleged involvement in fabricating evidence.... in a smear campaign directed at President Moon Jae-in,... during the run-up to this year's presidential election.
A former official of the center-left People's Party has been arrested for his alleged involvement in fabricating evidence.... in a smear campaign directed at President Moon Jae-in,... during the run-up to this year's presidential election.
And we're also expecting the former presidential candidate from that party to speak before the press this afternoon,... for more, we connect to our Kim Min-ji at the parliament.
Min-ji, give us the latest.
Se-min, we had learned that former People's Party leader and presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo will hold a press conference at 3.30 PM, Korea time -- so in about an hour and a half from now.
It'll most likely be about the ongoing probe and the political scandal that's been ripping the party apart,... and it will also be the first time he stands before the press since this issue came to light.
The latest on the investigation,... the Seoul Central District Court approved the prosecution's request early Wednesday morning... to arrest former party member Lee Jun-seo -- upholding its claim that he may destroy evidence and flee.
Lee is suspected of violating election laws during the presidential campaign period,... by disseminating falsified accusations,... directed at President Moon's son.
The allegations claimed... Moon had used his influence to land a public sector job for his son, back in 2006... when he was serving as the presidential secretary.
The prosecution has already arrested Yi Yu-mi -- a member of the People's Party and a former campaigner -- after she admitted fabricating the tip-off.
She got her brother to pose as a friend of Moon's son and make the fake revelation in an audio file -- which she passed onto Lee Jun-seo.
Prosecutors believe Lee was behind the crime,... and encouraged Yi Yu-mi to carry out the fabrication,... then deliberately overlooked the verification process.
This is in contrast to the People's Party's own probe -- which concluded that its top officials were not involved in the scheme.
There's speculation Lee's arrest could lead to a wider investigation... on whether the party knew of the act.
Soon after the arrest, the People's Party apologized,... saying they will cooperate with the investigation,... so that the truth is revealed.
But, they claim that the prosecution is conducting a "politically motivated" probe,... and called for an independent counsel investigation into the matter. It sure is a fascinating stroy,... and it looks like we'll have to see how deep this rabbit hole goes. With one of the four major political parties being torn apart,... how is the parliament holding up? It's been having its own issues too...
Well, the rival parties have been at loggerheads for the past several days,... over President Moon's ministerial picks -- for defense and labor -- ,... as well as bickering among rival factions.
With that, the three opposition parties -- namely Liberty Korea, People's Party and Bareun -- have been boycotting Assembly sessions.
As a result, the government's multi-billion dollar extra budget bill is on ice.
The ruling party therefore has bought some time from the Blue House,... giving them a few more days before they appoint the two minister-nominees in question,... during which they will have to persuade the opposition to get parliament moving again.
However, the opposition are not budging... saying there will be no cooperation unless the nominations are withdrawn.
The floor leader of the ruling party is meeting with his opposition counterparts, so if I hear any developments there, I will keep you updated. Semin?
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