Investigation into Secret Recording of Kim Geon-hee by YouTuber

On June 13, Lee Myung-soo, a member of the pro-democracy YouTube channel 'Seoul's Voice' (서울의 소리), faced questioning by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office regarding allegations of illegally recording a conversation with Kim Geon-hee, the spouse of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. The investigation is being conducted by the Public Investigation Division 2, led by Chief Prosecutor Jo Min-woo.

Before entering the prosecutor's office, Lee spoke to reporters, claiming that Kim had invited him to the Kobana Contents office for a three-hour discussion during which she allegedly consumed two cans of 500ml beer. He stated, "I had to leave for about three minutes to use the restroom after an inappropriate topic came up."

Lee's attorney, Ryu Jae-yul, argued that the recording was not illegal since Lee was a participant in the conversation. He emphasized that the only issue was the brief absence during the three-hour recording, asserting that there was no intent to conduct illegal recording, and called for the prosecution to dismiss the case.

Previously, the People Power Party accused Lee of violating the Public Official Election Act, claiming he recorded 52 conversations with Kim from July 2021 over a six-month period and provided the recordings to MBC for reporting. The police determined that there was intent to violate the law and referred the case to the prosecution in August 2022 for breaching the Communications Privacy Protection Act, but decided not to pursue charges related to trespassing or election law violations.