Song Young-gil, leader of the Pine Tree Party, stated, “I request that impeachment committee member Jung Chung-rae call in Prosecutor Lee Chang-soo, Prosecutor Jo Sang-won, and Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon (from Yoon Seok-yeol’s administration) as witnesses during the impeachment review.” On the 20th, the YouTube channel “Song Young-gil TV” published a column from Song in prison, which read: “I request impeachment committee member Jung Chung-rae to adopt me as a witness in the impeachment trial proceedings. I urge the Constitutional Court justices to grant me the opportunity to testify vividly abo
[Editor’s Note] The following is an open letter from Byun Hee-jae, CEO of Media Watch, addressed to former prosecutor Hong Sung-joon, former judge Lee Un-hak, and judge Park Ju-young. This letter is scheduled to be officially sent to the recipients via an official document. [Byun Hee-jae · CEO of MediaWatch] On November 27th, 2017, at 2:00 PM, nearly all major media outlets, including News1 and JTBC, published reports citing the prosecution, claiming that the National Forensic Service (NFS) analysis of Choi Soon-sil’s tablet PC found no traces of modification or fabrication. Most articles quot
[Byun Hee-jae, CEO of Media Watch] Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, has ultimately been sentenced to a two-year prison term by Yoon Suk-yeol, Han Dong-hoon, and their prosecution faction. He is expected to be imprisoned soon. Byun explains that since 2020, he and his team have been advocating for public awareness on the tablet manipulation crimes allegedly committed by Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon. This included holding press conferences, such as the one outside of Cho Kuk’s office, who was then a professor at Seoul National University’s Law School. Over three years, Byun pu
[Byun Hee-jae, CEO of Media Watch] Kwon Seong-dong, the leader of the People Power Party and former chairman of the National Assembly’s Judiciary Committee who handled the impeachment process during Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, visited the Constitutional Court. He reportedly urged the court to immediately dismiss the impeachment motion following Democratic Party’s Jung Chung-rae’s suggestion to exclude charges of treason and criminal offenses from the impeachment proposal. Without the charge of treason, Park Geun-hye was, instead, charged for avoiding investigations by Yoon Suk-yeol’s special
[ Byun Hee-jae · CEO of MediaWatch ] Ahead of the 2020 general elections, MediaWatch CEO Byun Hee-jae predicted that Hwang Kyo-ahn’s conservative opposition party would suffer a defeat with fewer than 100 seats. The Yeouido Research Institute, which was responsible for formulating the opposition party’s election strategy, and Park Hyung-jun, the co-head of the campaign committee at the time, also warned that “fewer than 100 seats is a danger.” Convinced of a crushing defeat, Hwang Kyo-ahn repeatedly apologized to the public, bowing deeply at Jong-ro. Ultimately, Hwang Kyo-ahn confirmed his par
[Editor's Note: The following statement was delivered by Byun during a press conference on December 12, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. local time, before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Los Angeles.] [ Byun Hee-jae · CEO of MediaWatch ] At 11 p.m. (KST) on December 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law nationwide. The military swiftly seized control of the National Assembly and the Election Commission. This marked the first time in 44 years that martial law had been imposed in South Korea, evoking memories of May 17, 1980, when the military regime orche
(October 26, 2024) The current appeal trial panel for the tablet defamation case, which has led to Media Watch CEO Byun Hee Jae’s push for political asylum in the U.S., has temporarily halted its aggressive measures under Judges Um Cheol, Lee Hoon Jae, and Yang Ji Jeong. As a result, the attempt by Yoon Suk Yeol’s prosecution to revoke Byun’s bail and re-detain him also appears to have failed for now. Tablet appeal trial panel postpones Byun Hee Jae’s questioning and final sentencing On the October 25th, 2024, the Criminal Appeal Division 4-2(b) of the Seoul Central District Court, overseeing
(October 13, 2024) Byun Hee-jae, CEO of Media Watch, declared conditional political asylum in the United States after participating in a candlelight protest and a rally for the resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol in front of the Los Angeles Consulate General on the 12th at 11 a.m. PST (4 a.m. on the 13th KST). He urged, “President Yoon Seok-yeol and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won must confess to their tablet manipulation.” Byun Hee-jae stated, “Even though it has been widely known for two weeks that I could seek political asylum in the U.S. while on my honeymoon, the National Intelligence Service st
(September 13, 2024) MediaWatch CEO Byun Hee-Jae has requested the court to thoroughly investigate the issue of when the “L-shaped lock pattern” was set on the ‘Choi Soon-Sil tablet,’ which is a key matter in determining how the tablet was obtained. He argued that, given the current situation where the prosecution has failed to present any relevant forensic evidence, it is meaningless to assess the probability of the tablet’s acquisition as claimed by the JTBC broadcasting company being true. On the 12th, CEO Byun Hee-Jae, in his opinion letter submitted to the tablet defamation appeals court,
(August 23, 2024) During the Tablet libel appeal trial, the court rejected the defendant’s motion to reopen the investigation into key evidence, prompting the defendants to walk out of the courtroom and refuse to stand trial. The court proceeded to hold a separate hearing for two bystanders who voiced their dissent over the ruling, throwing the entire case into turmoil. At 3:30 p.m. on August 22, the 13th hearing of the Tablet defamation appeal took place at the Seoul Central District Court (Criminal Case Litigation Division 4-2 Na), presided over by Judges Um Chul, Lee Hoon-jae, and Yang Ji-j
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