Prime Minister’s Office staff member quietly questioned lawmaker at National Assembly, sparks controversy
A Prime Minister’s Office official asked a question anonymously at an independent lawmaker’s press conference in the National Assembly’s Rotunda Hall, prompting the office to call it a spontaneous query and the lawmaker to demand the source be disclosed.
At a briefing held in the National Assembly’s Rotunda Hall, a senior official from the Prime Minister’s Office, referred to only as “ㄱ과장,” stepped up to the microphone and posed a question to independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon without stating his affiliation. The Prime Minister’s Office later released an explanation asserting that the official happened upon the event by chance, asked out of spontaneous curiosity, and that reports of a deliberate “infiltration” were inaccurate; it added that the question aimed to read a Facebook post mentioning the prime minister correctly.
Han Dong-hoon responded on Facebook, revealing the official’s position, accusing him of lying and political surveillance, and demanding the perpetrators be exposed. People’s Power MP Yoon Sang-hyun joined the criticism, saying a government employee confronting a lawmaker without identification is unacceptable and reminiscent of authoritarian practices. The office warned that such conduct by a current public servant is inappropriate for an elected official.
Why it matters
It highlights concerns over government officials breaching political neutrality by covertly questioning lawmakers.
In this story
