Prime Minister candidate Kim Min-seok on the 18th spoke about the defamation case involving a 60-year-old couple's will that he experienced over 20 years ago, stating, "A piece of garbage created by the political prosecutors is being circulated through low-quality far-right YouTube channels and media." He further remarked, "To put it bluntly, it's a horrifying malicious defamation incident by the political prosecutors."
On the same day, Kim noted via Facebook, "Targeted investigations, evidence tampering, false reporting, and witness intimidation are all things that political prosecutors like Yoon Suk-yeol have done to a shocking degree."
Kim commented on the incident, saying, "Some elderly couple extorted money from me and made an extreme choice. Is Korea a country so careless as to allow such things, and if that's true, would their children just sit quietly?"
He continued, "The truth is this: a local resident, lured by a bribe, embezzled money from a third party and solicited that bribe from me, which I refused to comply with. Amazingly, that person falsely claimed that I had given them money and chose to make an extreme decision."
Kim stated, "With the help from above, I was able to voluntarily submit the recorded conversation with that person to the prosecutors and escape from the defamation of the false report."
He added, "During the time I was pressured by targeted investigations, it was intended to manipulate public opinion, and I will not fall for such ridiculous false reports time and again."
This incident is known to involve a past case where an elderly couple committed suicide, leaving a will stating that "Kim Min-seok, then the highest committee member, extorted hundreds of millions of won in political funds." The couple wrote in their will that "Kim, the highest committee member, acted as a surrogate son, and in late 1996, he facilitated a loan from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund amounting to 600 million won, and by 2004, the total borrowed amount swelled to 2.4 billion won with 840 million won taken by Kim."
At that time, Kim explained, "I never referred to them as father or mother and never received even 1 won. It's hard to understand how they could frame someone to this extent while committing suicide." He added that "the couple made an unreasonable request for permission from then-Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak regarding a golf course construction, and when it was not granted, they began to make life difficult for my family. After the couple's suicide, the prosecutors called me, and I appeared in person to be investigated and was acquitted."