'I never went to the golf course'

People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo holds a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [Provided by the lawmaker's office]
People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo holds a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [Provided by the lawmaker's office]

People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo, who raised allegations that President Lee Jae Myung's family played golf at a military base, has been hit with a defamation complaint by the president's eldest son.

Lee Dong-ho, the president's eldest son, filed a defamation complaint against Ju with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Thursday, according to Yonhap.

Ju held a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Oct. 29, alleging that President Lee, his wife, their son Lee Dong-ho and Lee Dong-ho's spouse had played golf together at Hansan Country Club inside the Jinhae Naval Base during the president's summer vacation in August last year.

Ju also released photographs he claimed showed a helicopter parked at the base's helipad at the time.

In the complaint filed Thursday, Lee Dong-ho denied the allegations, saying he "did not visit Hansan Country Club during the summer vacation period and did not play golf there."

Lee argued that Ju had publicly stated false facts, damaging his reputation.

Attorney Lee Jae-hong of the Gangmul Law Office, representing the complainant, said Lee Dong-ho is "first and foremost a private individual who does not perform public duties, before being the president's son." Lee Jae-hong added that "even if a presidential family's vacation could be considered a matter of public interest, using a private individual's real name in press conferences, SNS posts and YouTube broadcasts to stoke controversy without verifying the facts goes beyond the bounds of political criticism."


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