Rep. Lee Seong-yun 'Threw Phone' at Staffer… Third Informant: “I Heard It Directly from the Victim”

Their tip is now being borne out by facts, which adds to its credibility. The informant has contacted again to offer additional testimony related to Rep. Lee.

They said they sent Jeong an audio recording and met with him in Jeonju, where they personally discussed matters related to Rep. Lee together with two city council members.

Specific statements about this point followed.

This is direct testimony that adds credibility to the allegation.

Beyond the phone-throwing incident, the informant raised other allegations about Rep. Lee. The claims include intimidating one city council candidate and relaying what was said, and making young prospective candidates take turns driving whenever they came down to Jeonju. The informant also said they reported the 'father-in-law style interview' in which the father of a sitting city council member interviewed prospective candidates.

The informant said they pointed out the impropriety of the prospective-candidate interviews and warned the person in charge. That person claimed that 'the Rep. has no problem at all,' but after the matter blew up, they called the informant and showed regret, saying, 'I should have listened to what the director said, I'm going crazy.' The informant said they even received an audio recording from this person.

NewsTamsa has already confirmed experiences of abuse through direct phone calls with staffers, and the informant stressed that they personally know the sitting city council member who was the victim of the phone-throwing incident and heard the account directly from them. This has been cross-checked against NewsTamsa's existing reporting, which increases its credibility.

This is presumed to be because the victim is in a position where they have no choice but to be mindful of Rep. Lee's camp.

This is the matter that Mae-il reporter Lee Chung-hyun of Jeonbuk reported on, and it was also controversial at the time of the local elections.

NewsTamsa is verifying the facts through these tips.

Kim urged candidate Lee Seong-yun to stop campaigning over the abuse allegations and to reveal the truth first, stressing that abuse against staffers is not something to be taken lightly. Kim added that the allegations raised are shocking.

Instead, he only responded that 'asking this kind of question is extremely insulting,' and the allegations were never confirmed.

NewsTamsa responded that even if Rep. Lee filed a complaint through a third party, it would effectively amount to instigating the complaint, and that if NewsTamsa's reporting proves to be factual, Rep. Lee would be the one liable for false accusation.

Nearly 30 of Rep. Lee's staffers have already been replaced, and all of those who left in the past are consistently testifying to terrible workplace abuses. This suggests the problem cannot be solved by silencing a single person.

NewsTamsa said that even though the reporting it worked hard to produce is factual, if Rep. Lee portrayed it as false in order to win the election, it damages the reputations of NewsTamsa and its reporters. It made clear that it will not let this go regardless of the election outcome.