Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun's assassination claim faces controversy

[Anchor]

The claim made by broadcaster Kim Eo-jun regarding the assassination of former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon has resulted in a significant stir, and it appears to be concluding as an absurd, fictional story as Kim himself described.

The United States, which had been speculated as the source of the information, officially denied any knowledge of the matter, and the Democratic Party also assessed that it contained considerable fabrication.

Reporter Jeon Hyun-woo has the story.

[Report]

On Dec. 13, Kim Eo-jun appeared at the National Assembly.

He claimed to have received information that during the emergency martial law, the military attempted to assassinate former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and make it look like an act by North Korea.

[Kim Eo-jun/Broadcaster/Dec. 13/National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee: "They would assassinate Han Dong-hoon while he is being transported after being arrested; it’s an absurd, fictional story, and to reveal part of the source, I would say it’s a friendly country with an embassy in Korea."]

Although he did not specify the friendly country, speculation arose that it could be the United States, and some Democratic Party members supported this idea.

[Kim Byung-joo/Democratic Party Member/Dec. 17/SBS Radio 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show': "I am giving considerable weight to the possibility and am currently verifying the information with the U.S. side and various other sources."]

The U.S. government immediately denied the claim through its embassy in South Korea and reiterated at a State Department press briefing that it was unaware of any information regarding an assassination squad.

[Matthew Miller/U.S. State Department Spokesperson: "I am not aware of any such information coming from the United States government."]

Within the Democratic Party, there were also judgments that the claims lacked credibility.

An internal review document reportedly contained an assessment that the claim was constructed with considerable fabrication based on some verified facts and was conveyed to the party leadership.

The People Power Party criticized that the Democratic Party effectively endorsed the claims of a 'professional instigator,' questioning whether they care about the Korea-U.S. alliance and diplomatic issues for the sake of incitement.

This is KBS News, Jeon Hyun-woo.