"You know," apologizes for President Lee's public sniping, "Involvement of gang members..Raising suspicions without grounds" [a comprehensive Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

While President Lee Jae-myung demanded an apology from the SBS liberal arts program "I Want to Know" (hereinafter referred to as "G-R") production team, "G-R" eventually bowed its head.

On the 20th, 'Gr' issued an official position and apologized, saying, "We apologize for raising suspicions without a solid basis."

The production team explained the situation at the time, saying, "In the episode of 'Power and Gangster - One Year After the Fataya Murder', which aired on July 21, 2018, it raised suspicions of involvement between politicians and violent organizations in Seongnam, and broadcasted that Lee Jae-myung, then governor of Gyeonggi Province, was included in the list of lawyers for two members of Seongnam International Mafia in 2007."

"After the broadcast, Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province launched an investigation and sent the charges to the prosecution in November 2018 with the opinion of non-prosecution, and Seongnam Branch, which took over the case, disposed of non-prosecution in December 2018," he added.

The production team also said, "The Supreme Court finally confirmed a one-year prison term and two-year probation on March 12 against lawyer Jang Young-ha, who claimed that candidate Lee Jae-myung received money and valuables from Seongnam International Mafia ahead of the 2021 presidential election."

In the end, the production team said it officially confirmed that the allegations were not legally true. The production team bowed its head, saying, "As a result, it has been confirmed that the alleged involvement between then-Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and Seongnam International Mafia was not legally true," adding, "We apologize for raising suspicions without a clear basis, citing the fact that Lee Jae-myung was included in the list of lawyers at the time."

Finally, the 'GR' side promised to comply with reporting ethics in the future. The production team stressed, "The 'I want to know' program will make accurate and objective broadcasts in compliance with SBS journalism rules enacted and implemented by SBS in 2024.

Earlier in the day, President Lee shared a message on his personal account, "The Blue House calls for further reports on the alleged involvement of presidential gang members in 'I want to know about it'," and demanded the production team to express its official position.

President Lee said, "Thanks to the miracle logic of 'GR' PD and Kim Sang-joong's real acting, I was driven to the point of murder," adding, "This broadcast seems to be one of the physical terrorism mobilized to get rid of me, judicial risk manipulation through the prosecution, and image-damaging operations through the media."

He also raised doubts during the coverage process. President Lee said, "We used broadcasts for months to receive reports from all the people, and a large number of reporters scoured the floor of Seongnam, and I wonder if there was even a single clue that was reported," adding, "If there was a spotty virtue, there would have been no follow-up report."

President Lee also said, "In order to prevent the recurrence of burying people in the grave of lies for political purposes, we need to reflect on and apologize for manipulated broadcasts such as the power of the people and 'You know what,'" he added. "I'm probably overambitious, but I want to hear a sincere word that I'm sorry."

Rumors of Lee Jae-myung's involvement in gangster, the core of the controversy, erupted when lawyer Jang Young-ha and others disclosed a report that they had handed over money and valuables from Seongnam International Mafia ahead of the 2022 presidential election. However, on March 12, the Supreme Court finalized the original ruling, which sentenced lawyer Jang to one year in prison and two years of probation, saying he had announced false facts for the purpose of Lee's losing the election.

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*This content was translated by AI.