| Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea speaks to reporters at the National Assembly after the presidential office sued him on libel charges against the first lady, Jan. 30. Newsis |
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Wednesday it will countersue the presidential office for accusing its spokesman of libel after he raised stock manipulation allegations involving the first lady.
Earlier this week, Yoon's office sued DPK spokesman Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom on charges of making false claims that the name of first lady Kim Keon Hee was mentioned at least 300 times during a trial on the alleged manipulation of stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea.
The opposition party has long accused the first lady of involvement in the case.
Kim further cited a prosecutor as saying Kim's bank account was used in manipulating stock prices of a separate company, Woori Technology, which develops nuclear power plant technology.
Denouncing Kim's claims as "fake news," the presidential office categorically denied the allegations involving Woori Technology.
On Wednesday, DPK spokesperson Park Sung-joon told reporters that the party's legal affairs committee plans to sue the presidential office this Friday.
"Kim issued a statement on the party's stance as a spokesperson. It would be appropriate for the party's legal committee to handle this," Park said.
In a radio interview with YTN, Kim also rebutted the presidential office's claim of "fake news," citing court documents from a separate trial.
He claimed a former banker, considered a key figure in the Deutsch Motors case, was sentenced for manipulating stock prices of Woori Technology, which the court documents showed was used for stock manipulation by scam investors. (Yonhap)