'Send an arrest motion to the National Assembly'

'Police forced me to appear on first day of national audit, then demanded more'

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-sup, who was referred to police on charges of spreading false information after raising allegations about former Seoul mayoral candidate Jung Won-oh's official trip to Cancun, Mexico, during Jung's tenure as Seongdong-gu district chief, speaks to reporters as he arrives at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit's public crime investigation division in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday — the first day of the national audit. A civil servant surnamed Lim, who accompanied Jung on the Cancun trip, filed a complaint in April against Kim and others who had publicly raised allegations about the trip. Lim took issue with statements Kim made at a National Assembly press conference. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-sup, who was referred to police on charges of spreading false information after raising allegations about former Seoul mayoral candidate Jung Won-oh's official trip to Cancun, Mexico, during Jung's tenure as Seongdong-gu district chief, speaks to reporters as he arrives at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit's public crime investigation division in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday — the first day of the national audit. A civil servant surnamed Lim, who accompanied Jung on the Cancun trip, filed a complaint in April against Kim and others who had publicly raised allegations about the trip. Lim took issue with statements Kim made at a National Assembly press conference. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-sup said Wednesday he would no longer cooperate with what he called a politically driven police investigation targeting him over allegations he raised about former Democratic Party of Korea Seoul mayoral candidate Jung Won-oh's official trip to Cancun, Mexico.

Kim made the remarks on Facebook after undergoing police questioning on Tuesday, saying, "Just send an arrest motion against me to the National Assembly."

"On the first day of the national audit — when I should have been in the audit chamber — police dragged me in front of the cameras and subjected me to a grueling 16-hour-and-46-minute interrogation," Kim said. "And yet police are now demanding I appear again for additional questioning."

He added that investigators had predetermined their conclusion and conducted what he described as a "fill-in-the-blank" interrogation aimed at extracting a confession of wrongdoing. Kim also accused police of stooping to "cheap media manipulation" to deflect criticism over their decision to question an opposition lawmaker on the opening day of the national audit.

Kim made clear he would refuse any further summons from police, maintaining that Tuesday's marathon session — combined with what he described as a predetermined outcome — left him no reason to comply.

Kim had appeared before police on Tuesday, the first day of the national audit, as a suspect facing charges of publishing false information under the Public Official Election Act. The investigation stems from a complaint filed against him after he publicly raised allegations about Jung's Cancun trip.

Kim characterized the police investigation as "blatant political suppression." Police pushed back against his account, maintaining that the schedule for his appearance had not been set unilaterally.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com