Chung Dong-young files criminal complaint against former NIS employee and film director over false claims of ‘pleasure squad’ hospitality and a daughter in North Korea

[Financial News] Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young has filed a criminal complaint against a former National Intelligence Service (NIS) employee and a film director for spreading false information about his personal life. The individuals named in the complaint sparked controversy by claiming that Minister Chung had a daughter left behind in North Korea and had received hospitality from a “pleasure squad” during a visit to the North.
According to the Ministry of Unification on the 28th, Minister Chung recently filed a criminal complaint against Jeong Seong-hong, a Hanmi Ilbo columnist and former NIS employee, and Jeong Seong-san, a film director who runs the YouTube channel “Jeong Seong-san TV.” They were identified as the original spreaders of the false information and were accused of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, among other charges.
The Ministry of Unification said, “We will always listen humbly to criticism and differing views on policy, but personal attacks based on fabricated facts cannot be protected as freedom of expression.”
It also stressed, “They made the minister a target of insulting and sensational attacks, seriously damaging his reputation and undermining confidence in the Ministry of Unification’s policies, thereby obstructing the ministry’s public duties.”
Minister Chung also said he has no daughter and has never been to Wonsan. He strongly denied that there was any truth to the claim that he had received hospitality from a so-called “pleasure squad.” However, he noted that he had held an official meeting with National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on June 17, 2005, as a special envoy of President Roh Moo-hyun.
The Ministry of Unification said, “In addition to this complaint, we will firmly consider and pursue further legal action against those who continue engaging in malicious slander by indiscriminately spreading and disseminating false information.”
[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter