South Korea: Opposition PPP Accuses Spy Chief of Orchestrating their Leader's Smear
The opposition People Power Party (PPP) is accusing Park Jie-won, chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), of conspiring with a whistleblower to derail the presidential candidacy of Yoon Seok-youl.
The whistleblower, Cho Sung-eun, claims Yoon meddled in the April 2020 general elections while serving as prosecutor general. As a result of Cho’s allegations, Yoon is now under investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
The PPP highlighted that Cho, a former deputy chief of the election committee of the United Future Party (UFP), has had close relations with Park and accused her of having been “coached” by the NIS chief to smear Yoon, the opposition party’s frontrunner presidential candidate. The UFP is the predecessor of the PPP.
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) riposted by comparing the allegations to “a third-rate political novel.” Cho and Park also both responded tartly to the allegations Monday.