Ruling party demands Han Dong-hoon apologize over Roh Moo-hyun probe remarks

In short

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party repeated calls on Oct. 5 for independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon to apologize over his remarks about the late President Roh Moo-hyun's bribery case, with one spokesperson telling him to kneel at Roh's grave. Han rejected the demand in Facebook posts, saying his critics had distorted the issue as one of protecting Roh as a "sacred ground" and were hiding behind it. The exchange follows Han's Oct. 2 comments on the Roh investigation, which the party has likened to "cyber wrecking."

Why it matters

The dispute keeps the Roh Moo-hyun investigation and the prosecution's role at the centre of South Korean party politics, and the Democratic Party has publicly asked investigative authorities to examine whether Han was involved in what it calls an attempted seizure of power. Because Han is an independent lawmaker and a former justice minister, the clash carries weight beyond a single social media argument, though the documents give no indication of any legal step actually taken.

Key facts

• The Democratic Party on Oct. 5 repeated its demand that independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon apologize over his remarks about the late President Roh Moo-hyun's bribery case. [ 1 , 2 ]
• Han responded on Facebook that the party had distorted the matter as one of treating Roh as a "sacred ground" and was hiding behind that framing. [ 1 , 2 ]
• Democratic Party chief spokesperson Park Sung-joon called Han's behaviour that of a "petty politician" from the political prosecution and said investigative authorities should immediately examine whether Han took part in insurrection. [ 1 ]
• Spokesperson Cho Gye-won said Roh did not personally receive the watch or the money, denied all charges, and called on Han to bow in apology to the family and to kneel at Roh's grave. [ 1 ]
• Rep. Kwak Sang-eon, Roh's son-in-law, said Han was not the prosecutor who handled the case and that the case was closed with no right of prosecution after Roh's death, with no trial held, asking on what basis Han called his account confirmed fact. [ 1 ]
• Rep. Yoon Kun-young said on YouTube that Han's Oct. 2 remarks were "groundwork for the prosecution's revival," describing them as "cyber wrecking." [ 1 ]
• Han said his criticism was aimed at those who insulted Roh while he was alive and then created and used a "myth of a fabricated victim" after his death. [ 1 ]

What local media are saying

Timeline, local time

1. 10-02Han Dong-hoon makes the remarks on the Roh Moo-hyun investigation that the Democratic Party responds to in the following days (date only; no time given in the documents). [ 1 ]
2. 14:47Yonhap publishes its report on the Democratic Party's demands and Han's Facebook response. [ 1 ]
3. 15:40Newsis publishes its report on the same exchange. [ 2 ]