Circumstances Suggesting Kim Eo-jun and Lee Jong-won Kept New 탐사 in Check

In February 2023, a recording of attorney Lee Jae-il's phone call with a key Gaeukbon member was released. In this call, attorney Lee Jae-il referred to Kim Eo-jun as 'Brother Eo-jun' and mentioned that he could report to him. These remarks suggest a hierarchical relationship in which Lee Jong-won and attorney Lee Jae-il were effectively under Kim Eo-jun's influence. It appears attorney Lee Jae-il acted as a key Gaeukbon member, directly reporting to Kim Eo-jun.

Lee Jong-won and attorney Lee Jae-il sought to gain Kim Eo-jun's attention by targeting figures like reporter Kang Jin-gu and former lawmaker Son Hye-won. According to the recording, it was mentioned that "if it's someone like Kang Jin-gu or Son Hye-won, you can spin a story to Kim Eo-jun," suggesting they believed attacking these individuals would be effective with Kim Eo-jun. Conversely, there were signs they deemed individuals like Mr. Kim unworthy of attack, considering them outside of Kim Eo-jun's interest.

In the past, when New 탐사 raised suspicions of public opinion manipulation, Lee Jong-won dismissed New 탐사 as "an insignificant YouTuber with no influence," stating there was no need to pay attention to it. However, he has recently shown a changed demeanor, seemingly conscious of New 탐사. In particular, there are signs he acknowledges New 탐사's influence and tries to avoid it, such as by excluding reporter Kang Jin-gu from thumbnails. This is a contrasting change from his past dismissive attitude, indicating New 탐사's growth and the pressure it brings.

According to Ha Seong-heup's testimony, Lee Jong-won went to Gwangju and instructed Gaeukbon members not to be too enthusiastic about supporting Lee Jae-myung, making comments that dampened their efforts. This supports the suspicion that he intended to use Representative Lee Jae-myung for his own political goals rather than genuinely supporting him. Ha Seong-heup stated that members were confused at the time, and looking back now, he believes Lee Jong-won never acted for Representative Lee Jae-myung's benefit for even a moment.

Criticism has emerged that Lee Jong-won and Kim Eo-jun, while appearing to support Representative Lee Jae-myung, are actually engaging in 'Myung-pali' – leveraging his name to increase their own influence. The host pointed out that they are gathering people, but are in fact supporting someone else. This argument suggests that they are using Representative Lee Jae-myung's support base to solidify their own political standing.

Kim Eo-jun stated on his show 'News Factory' that he felt sorry about the decline in President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating and offered advice. However, the host raised the question of whether Kim Eo-jun was also engaging in 'Myung-pali' when these remarks were linked to Lee Jong-won's past actions. An analysis suggested that Representative Lee Jae-myung was not part of their long-term plan after the 2022 presidential election, and they might currently be in the process of finding an alternative candidate.

These individuals appear to support Representative Lee Jae-myung, but it is analyzed that their ultimate intention is to make their preferred candidate president. To this end, there are signs they are trying to prevent Representative Lee Jae-myung from intervening in party affairs and to make him act according to their will. In particular, it was revealed that they do not want Representative Lee Jae-myung's exposure to exceed Kim Min-seok's, which would further increase Kim Min-seok's popularity. This is interpreted as an attempt to weaken Representative Lee Jae-myung's political influence.

Ha Seong-heup testified that Lee Jong-won used Kim Eo-jun's name to lend weight to his arguments in front of Gwangju Gaeukbon members at the time. He judged that Lee Jong-won did not appear to be engaged in any activities or plans for Representative Lee Jae-myung. This is crucial testimony supporting the suspicion that Lee Jong-won used Representative Lee Jae-myung as a means to strengthen his own position rather than genuinely supporting him.

Ha Seong-heup criticized Lee Jong-won for having no interest in maintaining parliamentary seats for the preservation of democratic forces or responding to political retaliation from the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Instead, he testified that Lee Jong-won made preposterous claims such as "we must send Lee Nak-yeon to the market and completely kill him." Ha Seong-heup stated that upon hearing Lee Jong-won's irrational remarks, he thought, 'This man is going to cause serious trouble.' This is cited as an example demonstrating Lee Jong-won's character flaws and irrational judgment.

Lee Jong-won acted as if his information was superior by stating that people living in Gwangju do not know the situation in Seoul well because they are only in Gwangju. He made remarks like "You only stay in Gwangju, so you don't know the situation in Seoul" to give authority to his claims. Ha Seong-heup criticized Lee Jong-won's remarks as 'a fundamental lie'.

The informant's and Ha Seong-heup's testimonies regarding Lee Jong-won mentioning Kim Eo-jun's name were cross-validated and found to be consistent. Except for the mealtime being lunch instead of dinner, the informant's content and Ha Seong-heup's memory precisely matched. In particular, it was confirmed that Ha Seong-heup clearly remembered Lee Jong-won using Kim Eo-jun's name to make political arguments. This is important evidence that increases the credibility of Lee Jong-won's statements and intentions.