Rebuffing Roh Moo-hyun Foundation statement

'We must confront the fiction of the fabricated-investigation myth head-on'

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon [Yonhap]
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon [Yonhap]

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on Tuesday rebuffed a statement issued by the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation titled "There are manners and limits even in political disputes," saying South Korea has no future "until the fictional myth of a fabricated Roh Moo-hyun investigation — used for 18 years to gaslight the public — is overcome."

Han said in a Facebook post that day that he had read the foundation's statement, adding that "former President Roh Moo-hyun never claimed the investigation into him was fabricated, and I have never said that former President Roh himself created this fictional myth."

"What I am calling for is criticism of, and a break from, the political forces that badmouthed Roh while he was alive and then, after his death, fabricated and exploited the fictional myth that the investigation into him had been rigged," Han said. "The harm they caused was far too great."

He then said the Democratic Party had "openly spoken of dismantling this country's systems — abolishing supplementary investigations and the prosecutorial regime — as if it were revenge on behalf of former President Roh, and dedicated those acts to his memory," adding that "the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation did not say a single word about taboos or about not exploiting his name back then."

Han added that "now, with the judicial system in ruins, I am saying we must squarely face whether former President Roh was actually subjected to a fabricated investigation — and I cannot agree with the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation telling us this is a taboo, that we should stop arguing over the facts and say no more."

Turning to the Democratic Party directly, Han said that "based on the fictional myth that former President Roh was the victim of a fabricated investigation, the Democratic Party's political forces abolished the prosecutorial regime itself, including supplementary investigations." He added that "with the entire public — particularly ordinary people — now suffering greatly as a result, I believe we must confront head-on the fiction of the fabricated-investigation myth that gave rise to all of this."

Earlier Tuesday, the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation had issued its statement directed at Han, expressing "deep concern and regret over the situation in which allegations not confirmed by a court ruling are being conveyed as established fact."


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