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Shady deal between two former journalists

Published: 03 Sep. 2023, 20:14

The prosecution on Friday raided the house of Shin Hak-lim, 65, the former chairman of the progressive National Union of Media Workers, to search and seize evidence. Shin is suspected of spreading fake news about President Yoon Suk Yeol in March last year — then-presidential candidate of the People Power Party (PPP) — after receiving a huge amount of money from Kim Man-bae, currently on trial for his apparent involvement in the suspicious Daejang-dong redevelopment project pushed by former Seongnam mayor Lee Jae-myung, then-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party (DP) and current head of the party.

An internet media where Shin worked as a senior reporter at the time exposed a 72-minute file on his earlier interview with Kim — the journalist-turned-property developer behind the suspicious development project — on March 6, 2022, just three days before the presidential election. Given the sensitive timing, Shin probably wanted to affect the results of the election in Lee’s favor by releasing his own interview with Kim.

The audio file included Kim’s claim that Yoon had thwarted the prosecution from investigating the corruption of the Busan Savings Bank in 2011, when Yoon was a senior prosecutor in the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. However, a person appearing in the audio said he had never met prosecutor Yoon. Kim, the reporter-turned-real estate developer, is also suspected of calling the person to ask for his understanding of his lies before his interview with Shin.

Nevertheless, Shin attempted to back Yoon’s opponents by introducing Kim’s one-sided claims. The corruption at the savings bank was a hot-button issue during the presidential campaign until early 2022. At that time, DP’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung strongly attacked Yoon for his alleged involvement in the case. If the interview was fake, all the voters were fooled by a liar. A responsible media outlet wouldn’t report based on unilateral claims. Shim, a veteran journalist, should know better.

More embarrassing is the amount of money Shin received from Kim after selling three volumes of his book to him. Shin took a whopping 165 million won ($124,858), including tax, for the three books. That amounts to 55 million won per book. It does not make sense to sell a book at that price unless it is a national treasure.

If the two men — Shin and Kim — really tried to change the results of the election, that’s a grave crime shaking the foundation of democracy. We hope Shin sincerely cooperates with the prosecution’s investigation and tells the truth behind the muddy deal. The prosecution must get to the bottom of the case so as not to leave any suspicions behind.