Declaration of Conditional Political Asylum in the United States

-If President Yoon Seok-yeol does not confess to the tablet manipulation, he will face condemnation on the international stage -

I, Byun Hee-jae, analyzed the so-called “Chey Soon-sil tablet” report that JTBC broadcasted around October of 2016 and concluded that the actual user of the tablet was not civilian Chey Seo-won (Chey Soon-sil) but rather Blue House administrative officer Kim Han-soo. Since then, I have widely shared this truth through press conferences and statements.

However, I, Byun Hee-jae, became the first among major OECD journalists to be arrested in May 2018 after the impeachment of Park Geun-hye was decided and the Moon Jae-in administration took power. The reason for my arrest was that I allegedly defamed JTBC by raising suspicions of manipulation regarding the “Chey Soon-sil tablet.” At that time, the chief prosecutor who arrested and indicted me at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office was Yoon Suk-yeol, and the third chief was Han Dong-hoon.

While continuing my criminal trial, I revealed that during the impeachment crisis, the prosecution and special investigation team conspired with SK Telecom to forge the mobile service contracts for the tablet in order to conceal the fact that Kim Han-soo had been paying the communication fees for the “Chey Soon-sil tablet.” I also uncovered that the fourth team of the special investigation for the Park Geun-hye national scandal had fabricated and forged the so-called “second Chey Soon-sil tablet,” which was submitted by Jang Si-ho, to make it appear as Chey Seo-won’s. The team leader of the fourth special investigation team was Yoon Suk-yeol, and the key team member was Han Dong-hoon. They led the effort to arrest me to forever cover up the tablet manipulation investigation they conducted in order to impeach former President Park Geun-hye.

Unfortunately, these conspirators of evidence manipulation, Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, have become the President and the People Power Party representative respectively, who previously served as the Minister of Justice. Consequently, it has become impossible to resolve the evidence manipulation case related to the president’s investigation within Korea.

In the defamation criminal trial regarding the tablet, in the appeals court, the current judges, including Eom Cheol, Lee Hoon-jae, and Yang Ji-jeong, unilaterally canceled the witness examination for Kim Han-soo, which had already been adopted by the previous court. Furthermore, the Eom Cheol’s court declared that it would not accept any evidence or witnesses requested by the defense and pushed forward with the decision and sentencing immediately.

Moreover, despite the clear forgery of the new mobile service contract for the “first Chey Soon-sil tablet” conspired with SK Telecom, I was additionally indicted by the Jongno Police Department and the Western District Prosecutors’ Office, controlled by Yoon Suk-yeol. If the prosecution indicted me despite the confirmation of the tablet contract forgery, it suggests their plan to bribe or intimidate the court or even manipulate other pieces of evidence.

While I was at risk of a second arrest, former journalist union chairman Shin Hak-lim was also arrested for disclosing recorded evidence that Yoon Suk-yeol had covered up the investigation into the Busan Bank case during his time as a prosecutor. Reporter Bong Ji-wook and Tapa News have been subjected to indiscriminate searches, and journalist Kang Jin-goo’s NewTamsa was indicted for raising clear evidence of misconduct by Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon while drinking. Journalists Baek Eun-jong and Lee Myung-soo from Seoul’s Voice are also in a situation where they could be arrested at any moment due to countless complaints from Kim Kun-hee and others. Opposition figure Song Young-gil, the leader of the Sonamu Party (Pine Tree Party), is also facing arrest for denouncing the repression of journalists and the prosecutorial dictatorship.

Unable to continue to suffer from the discriminatory media oppression and repression of opposition figures under the Yoon Suk-yeol regime, I decided to go to the United States after my wedding on September 28th of this year. This decision was influenced by the dirty plea bargaining from Judge Eom Cheol. When I showed my determination to resist by being absent from the trial, Judge Eom Cheol’s side sent an acquaintance to propose, “If you quietly attend the trial, I won’t put you in custody with probation.” This, in itself, is illegal and is merely a conspiracy to forever bury the truth and Yoon Suk-yeol’s criminal acts through intimidation.

Over the past eight years, I have revealed all manipulations of the tablet device and the tablet contract. If only a minimum of fair procedures are guaranteed, I hope to conclude my fight for the truth in Korea. Therefore, I am making the following demands to the Korean government and courts.

First, the Supreme Court should immediately replace and discipline the judges of the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Appeals Division 4-2 (Eom Cheol, Lee Hoon-jae, Yang Ji-jeong). Their proceedings are crimes that should be subjected to heavy punishment, and they are afraid of revealing their crimes, even refusing to allow official court recordings. Even when a motion for disqualification is filed for the defendant’s right to defense, they are abusing the simple dismissal system. I have already requested discipline against them from the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should make an immediate decision.

If the Supreme Court protects and condones the crimes of Eom Cheol, Lee Hoon-jae, and Yang Ji-jeong, it will be regarded as a national rebellion involving the entire South Korean judiciary to conceal Yoon Suk-yeol’s crimes, and it will ultimately be condemned by the international community, leading to a massive reform and revolution in the courts afterward.

Second, the Corruption Investigation Office should immediately investigate the crimes surrounding the tablet manipulation investigation by Yoon Suk-yeol and others. I have reported this case to the Corruption Investigation Office three years ago, and they have not dismissed it and are currently gathering investigation materials. However, the Corruption Investigation Office has been hesitant to launch a proper investigation while in the face of the current President Yoon. However, an agency that cannot investigate power-type crimes has no reason to exist. If the Corruption Investigation Office fails to take action, it will ultimately be completely abolished by the hands of the people.

Third, the National Assembly should immediately legislate a special law for the investigation of the tablet manipulation investigation case. The tablet manipulation investigation case involves crimes committed by President Yoon Suk-yeol and PPP Representative Han Dong-hoon, who previously served as the Minister of Justice. With the Corruption Investigation Office being neutralized, there is no other way to investigate this.

The Democratic Party has displayed opportunistic behavior by avoiding the tablet issue during the impeachment hearings against Prosecutor Kim Young-cheol, who conspired with Jang Si-ho regarding the manipulation investigation of the “second Chey Soon-sil tablet.” Their inactivity is a betrayal to their supporters who want to judge Yoon Suk-yeol since if the truth about the tablet is revealed, the Democratic Party may also be judged alongside Yoon Suk-yeol.

On the other hand, the People Power Party has more information about the tablet manipulation issue than the Democratic Party since the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. If the People Power Party also conceals the truth out of eagerness to receive the crumbs of power that Yoon Suk-yeol hands down, they will also face a national judgment that renders them irrecoverable alongside Yoon Suk-yeol. 

Fourth, SK Telecom and Chey Tae-won should abandon the idea of bribing and intimidating prosecutors and judges while relying on Yoon Suk-yeol’s power. Instead they should confess their forgery of the tablet contract. If they do not stop their illegal actions here, SK Telecom’s manipulation crime will soon become an issue for the international community alongside my exile.

The four demands I made are fundamentally reasonable things that should have been accepted domestically from the beginning. If even these reasonable demands are rejected by the Yoon Suk-yeol regime, leading to a situation where a public intellectual who has worked in Korea for over 25 years has to leave and seek asylum in the United States, then Yoon Suk-yeol’s South Korea will not be recognized like a normal country in the international community.

In that case, I will make it clear that I will choose to travel not only in the United States but also worldwide to inform the international community of the crimes of Yoon Suk-yeol, Han Dong-hoon, and Chey Tae-won and hold them accountable on the international stage.

October 12th, 2024

Byun Hee-jae, CEO of MediaWatch