Lee Jong-won's Lawsuit Against Kim Min-seok: 'Self-Inflicted Wound' Controversy

Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tap-pa, sued Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party, on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act and the Political Parties Act. This comes after Kim Min-seok disclosed Lee Jong-won's party membership via social media. In response, the Democratic Party's legal bureau retorted that Lee Jong-won himself had already stated on broadcast in July that he was a member of the Democratic Party, so it cannot be considered a leak of personal information, and announced that they would respond at the legal bureau level.

The host analyzed that some progressive media outlets tend to criticize the government more strongly than conservative media due to a 'lackey complex,' trying to avoid being labeled 'government-affiliated media.' This reporting stance is reminiscent of the media situation at the end of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, it was pointed out.

Lee Jong-won is suspected of manipulating opinion polls for the party convention, which is defined as an anti-social criminal act. However, criticism has been raised that some media outlets are reporting this incident with a factional conflict frame, such as 'purging pro-Lee Jae-myung factions,' thereby replacing a criminal act with a simple partisan power struggle. It is pointed out that they are obscuring the essence of the case, as if Kim Min-seok, the party leader, had committed a major wrongdoing.

Lee Jong-won is accused of inciting opinion poll respondents to change their gender, age, and region when responding. The host emphasized that such actions are not mere suspicions but serious criminal acts. It was criticized that some media outlets' attempt to frame this as a factional conflict, such as 'purging pro-Lee Jae-myung factions,' is a typical reporting attitude that distorts the essence of the incident.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Moon-soo's press conference urging accusation was based on New Tam-sa's reports. However, some media outlets referred to New Tam-sa as 'fake news' and reported the press conference itself negatively. The host pointed out that such behavior is not even done by conservative media nowadays.

Lee Jong-won announced via his social media that he would file an initial lawsuit against Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok for violating the Personal Information Protection Act, the Political Parties Act, and for malicious false accusation. He also stated that he would proceed with a second round of actions with citizens, including a lawsuit to nullify the party convention, a lawsuit to suspend Kim Min-seok's duties, and an accusation of election fraud in the party convention, declaring 'all-out war from tomorrow.'

Lee Jong-won's side claims that Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party, confirming his party membership constitutes the disclosure of sensitive personal information, thus viewing it as a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act. They confidently announced legal counter-attacks, believing they have cornered Kim Min-seok with this lawsuit.

The host pointed out that Lee Jong-won himself had mentioned being a member of the Democratic Party multiple times on broadcast. The analysis is that confirming already public information is unlikely to be considered a leak of personal information.

Indeed, on a broadcast on July 12, Lee Jong-won clearly referred to himself as a 'core member of the Democratic Party.' At the time, he stated, "As a citizen, and as a member of the Democratic Party, and as a core member, and as a supporter, I am registered as a core member of the Democratic Party." This statement clearly shows evidence that Lee Jong-won voluntarily disclosed his party membership.

The host assessed that Lee Jong-won's lawsuit for violating the Personal Information Protection Act, which he presented as a 'comeback card,' would effectively end up as a 'dud.' Since he himself had already disclosed his party membership, there is almost no room for legal dispute. It was analyzed that even if a complaint is filed with the police, it is highly likely to be dismissed with just the video evidence of Lee Jong-won directly revealing his party membership.

The host criticized that despite Lee Jong-won's attempts to 'muddy the waters' to cover up serious criminal allegations, some media outlets are simply echoing him. It was pointed out that such media behavior prevents Lee Jong-won from repenting his wrongdoing and instead allows him to incite, as if he is being politically oppressed by Kim Min-seok.