PASTOR GRILLED FOR 12 HOURS

PASTOR GRILLED FOR 12 HOURS

[Anchor Lead]
Pastor Choi Jae-young, who gave First Lady Kim Keon-hee a luxury handbag, underwent a 12-hour prosecutorial investigation. During this extensive inquiry, Pastor Choi revealed that the probe not only focused on the luxury handbag but also scrutinized other gifts provided to the First Lady and addressed other related allegations concerning her.

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Pastor Choi Jae-young met with First Lady Kim Keon-hee and gave her a luxury handbag, worth three-million won, or about two-thousand-200 dollars. Choi was summoned on charges of trespassing and violating the anti-graft act, and after 12 hours of questioning, he left the prosecutors office. He said the interrogation touched on allegations of other gift giving as well, and not only the handbag in question.

[Soundbite]
Choi Jae-young (Pastor): (Were you asked about other gifts?) Of course. I explained in detail the meaning of the gifts I gave and how and why they were delivered. The questionnaire included those matters.

Regarding a key point of contention on whether a connection can be established between the gift and President Yoon Suk Yeol's performance of duties, the pastor maintained his earlier stance.

[Soundbite]
Choi Jae-young (Pastor): (Were you grilled about the gifts' connection to the president's duties?) Of course. I provided the facts and it's now for the prosecution to decide.

Choi also revealed that he did not submit evidential materials such as KakaoTalk messages shared with the first lady and the original copy of the filmed meeting that prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors instead are scheduled to summon Baek Eun-jong, the head of Voice of Seoul, an internet media outlet, next Monday and secure those materials which Choi handed to Baek. It was Baek who filed a complaint against the first couple over bribery and violation of anti-graft law charges. After analyzing the pastor's testimony and materials obtained through Voice of Seoul, the prosecution is then expected to earnestly review whether to question the first lady herself, and if so, in what manner.

RESHUFFLE AMID FIRST LADY PROBE

[Anchor Lead]
Meanwhile, The Ministry of Justice has executed a significant reshuffle of senior prosecutorial positions. Lee Chang-soo, former spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office under President Yoon Suk Yeol,is now Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, leading the investigation into allegations involving First Lady Kim Gun-hee. Major changes have also been made to Prosecutor-General Lee Won-seok's advisory team at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

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A new head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has been appointed to lead investigations into various allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon-hee. Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Jeonju District Prosecutors Office, who was once called Yoon Suk Yeol's mouthpiece when Yoon was serving as prosecutor-general, has been newly named as Seoul's top prosecutor. Previously as head of the prosecutors' office in Seongnam, Lee investigated the Seongnam Football Club illegal donations allegation involving main opposition chair Lee Jae-myung which resulted in Lee's indictment. After taking on the post at the Jeonju district office, Lee Chang-soo headed a probe targeting the former son-in-law of ex-President Moon Jae-in over alleged preferential employment. Starting Thursday, as Seoul's top prosecutor, Lee will command investigations into some major cases including allegations on not only the first lady but also the Ulsan mayoral election interference and public opinion manipulation during the presidential election as well as the high profile Daejangdong and Baekhyeondong land development scandal. Current chief of Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office Song Kyung-ho who was rumored to have clashed with the presidential office over the first lady's case has been appointed to head of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office. Though on the outside it appears as a promotion to a senior post, some speculate it's actually a demotion. All of the deputy chief prosecutors at the Seoul office including Kim Chang-jin, who worked on the first lady's luxury handbag case and Ko Hyung-gon, on stock price manipulation allegations, have also been replaced. Meanwhile at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, new faces have also been appointed as top aides to prosecutor-general Lee Won-seok. Those known to be closely aligned with President Yoon such as Jeon Moo-gon, Jung Hui-do and Huh Jung are among the new appointments in the latest reshuffle. The justice ministry said that by placing the right talent in the right position, the appointments focused on establishing a system where prosecutors can faithfully carry out their duties. However, the reshuffle is viewed as some what unusual with just about 4 months left in the prosecutor-general's term in office.

PRES. OFFICE ON LINE-YAHOO CASE

[Anchor Lead]
As controversies surrounding the so-called 'Line Yahoo incident' between Japan and South Korea intensify, the presidential office has issued its first official statement. Prioritizing the interests of South Korean citizens and companies, the office has vowed to take all necessary actions and to respond firmly and strongly against any unfair measures.

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The Line Yahoo dispute began when Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications asked Line Yahoo to review its capital relationship with Naver. It was construed as an attempt to force the South Korean company to sell its stake in the operator of the chat service Line. As criticism over the Korean government's passive response escalated, the presidential office announced its stance. It says it had done everything in its power to make sure that the interests of the Korean public and businesses remained a top priority.

[Soundbite]
Sung Tae-yoon (Nat'l policy director, Presidential office): We respect Naver's decisions. We have been waiting for its direction with its mid- to long-term business strategies.

The presidential office says it began discussing response measures with Naver to the security breach since the massive user information leak in November last year, and has also confirmed facts with the Japanese government. The presidential office has also sent a warning message to Japan. It has vowed to take a firm and strong response should Japan take any unjust actions against Korean businesses. The presidential office, however, is calling on Naver to provide an accurate explanation of the situation in order to resolve the matter. A presidential official said although details should be kept confidential to protect the company's interests, Naver needs to be more factual and specific in its position for the government to help. This could imply that the government wants Naver to disclose in more detail when it started discussions of selling its stake with Line Yahoo and what exactly had been discussed with the Japanese government. The presidential office is also urging bipartisan cooperation from the political circles, as political attacks triggering anti-Japanese sentiment are of no help in protecting Korean businesses.

MED SCHOOL QUOTA RIFT CONTINUES

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These are the minutes of the Health Policy Review Committee meeting held on February 6, the day when the government announced its plans to expand the medical school enrollment quota. One of the committee members warned at the meeting that if the medical school quota is expanded by a large number, it would be tantamount to creating more than 20 medical schools similar to the Seonam University College of Medicine," which was shut down in 2018. Some pointed out there was no point for the committee to discuss the matter, because the government would announce its quota expansion plan unilaterally. Others, however, said the quota should be increased by at least 3,000 and that it was already too late to do it. Of the 23 committee members who attended the meeting, four were against. The minister of health, who headed the committee, concluded that the committee members were mostly in favor of quota expansion. The medical community has disclosed the minutes of the meeting in question. It says the meeting was just a formality, and there are no minutes on the decision to increase the med school quota by 2,000.

[Soundbite]
Kim Jong-il (Head, Professorial committee at SNU College of Medicine): The committee meeting was held solely for the purpose of announcing the 2,000 quota hike. It did not discuss the grounds for the increase.

The government rebutted by saying that even the four members who were opposed to the scope of quota hike were in favor of its expansion per se. It added the matter had been sufficiently discussed with the medical community, and stressed that the estimated number of doctors had been discussed with the Korean Medical Association four times.

[Soundbite]
Park Min-soo (2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare): Even though the number 2,000 was not specified, research data showing that 10,000 more doctors are needed has been disclosed...several times in the past one year.

The court is to decide on whether to halt the government's plan on quota increase later this week. The government has vowed to appeal immediately if the court decides to suspend its plan. The medical community has vowed to appeal immediately if its appeal is rejected.

N. KOREAN COURT HACKING PROBE

[Anchor Lead]
It has been confirmed that a substantial amount of information has been extracted from the computer network of South Korea's courts due to a cyber attack by North Korea. As of now, the specifics of the leaked information have not yet been identified. KBS has confirmed that the Supreme Court has promptly initiated an internal investigation to determine responsibility.


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It has been found that the data North Korean hackers stole from the South Korean court's computer network totaled 1,014 gigabytes. The North Korean hacking group believed to be responsible is the Lazarus Group. Following the police's announcement of its investigation results, the Supreme Court's judicial ethics and inspection office also launched its own probe. The office will first look into whether or not officials in charge of information management violated security rules by sharing passwords or using the same password for a prolonged period. Although the exact timing and route of the cyber attack have not yet been identified, it is undeniable that court officials' lax security management is one of the reasons that led to the hacking. It seems that the top court will inevitably face an investigation regarding why it belatedly asked for an official probe more than nine months after learning about the hacking and its damage. A Supreme Court official explained the court already asked the National Intelligence Service for support in March and April last year, adding that it launched its own probe to prevent additional damage after discovering the hacking. However, the NIS refuted the Supreme Court's explanation, saying that the top court did not request a probe until last December, despite its repeated warnings against hacking risks for five years. While conducting its own investigation, the National Court Administration has decided to significantly increase personnel and budgets to enhance cyber security. However, it has come under fire for its delayed action and failure to exactly identify the damage in detail.

POOR GARLIC & PLUM FARMING

[Anchor Lead]
Garlic and plum farmers are facing grim prospects as the harvest approaches. This year’s crop yield is significantly below average, primarily due to last winter's weather conditions, which were marked by unusually frequent rainfall and warm temperatures. We report firsthand of the situation.

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A field of garlic due for harvest next month. Most of the garlic are of poor quality. Their stalks are split into multiple parts with smaller, fragmented bulbs.

[Soundbite]
Choi Cheong-jip (Gyeongnam branch of garlic farmers' association): There's only about 70 percent good garlic on this field. Most of them are poor quality. It is nearly impossible to find good garlic.

The situation is the same for plums with the harvest season approaching. Plum trees are supposed to be heavy with fruit around this time. But this year, one or two plums are seen hanging on each branch.

[Soundbite]
Lee Su-jeong (Hadong plum farmers' association): In previous years, the annual crop used to be around 7 tons. But this year, it will be some 400 to 500 kilograms at most.

Last winter's unusually warm weather is the main cause of the ruined farming of garlic and plums. Due to the high pressure in the eastern part of the Korean Peninsula, the temperature was higher than usual with warmer and more humid winds blowing. Between December and February, there was a record amount of rainfall because of pressure passing through the southern part of the peninsula. The unusual weather hampered the secondary growth of garlic while forcing plum flowers to bloom earlier than usual.

[Soundbite]
Choi Min-sun (Nat’l Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science): Last winter, the weather was a little warm with a high precipitation, creating environment that likely hastened the secondary growth of crops.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast that the temperature and precipitation will be higher than in previous years until July. Farmers are increasingly concerned about the unusually warm and humid weather, which will increase pests and diseases for their crops.

CLAIMS BY NEWJEANS' PARENTS

[Anchor Lead]
For the first time since their debut, group New Jeans will be appearing on a terrestrial entertainment program. However, controversy is also brewing as a proposal sent to HYBE by the parents of the members was revealed. With fans expressing both excitement and concern, we look into the latest updates on NewJeans.

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[Soundbite]
Min Hee-jin (ADOR CEO(April 25)): At the time, HYBE did not offer any explanation or apology to the parents of NewJeans members. They had many complaints on that.

Until now, parents of the girl group NewJeans' members have been mentioned only through ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin who is at the center of an ongoing dispute with parent company HYBE. But it has been found that the members' parents had already issued a complaint to HYBE last month. The local news outlet Ilgan Sports disclosed an e-mail Min forwarded to HYBE as a collective opinion of the members' parents. In this email, the parents expressed regret over the similarity between NewJeans and HYBE's new girl group ILLIT. They also claimed that HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk had repeatedly ignored NewJeans members when they greeted him. In response, HYBE denied the claim, saying that Min is the one who wrote this email in question and not the parents. The company also refuted the claim of Bang mistreating NewJeans to be false. Meanwhile, NewJeans members recently finished filming the upcoming episode of KBS' reality program "2 Days & 1 Night." This is the first time the girl group will appear in a terrestrial network's variety show since their debut in 2022. The corresponding episode will air in June.