Former Justice Minister Kim Hak Eui vehemently denied reports of an orgy video.
A local news outlet, YTN, reported on the 11th that they have exclusive footage of the vice Justice Minister and said, "We obtained exclusive footage from Police and can clearly ascertain from the footage that the man in the clip is the former Justice Minister. Because the public has a right to know, and in order to expose the acts of the prosecution that investigated the case at the time, we hereby share a part of the footage."
The outlet then proceeded to share the explicit footage publicly. The footage shows a man singing into a mic while caressing a woman with his other arm. The woman’s back is turned to the camera. “As the camera closes in on the man’s face, you can see the facial contours clearly, to the point that you can tell the man is wearing a pair of rimless glasses,” YTN reported. “We asked the [independent] Forensic Image Analysis Lab to analyze the footage and it concluded that the man is Kim. The footage is the same footage that police obtained in May 2013."
Kim is under prosecution investigation over renewed allegations that he took bribes from a local developer and received sexual services in return for business favors. The former ranking prosecutor was probed in 2013 and 2014 over the suspicions but was cleared of the charges due to "lack of evidence".
Prosecutors reopened the case recently after a secretly filmed video clip alleged to show Kim with women hired for the sex party was disclosed during an adultery probe involving the developer, Yoon Jung-cheon.
In a statement his lawyer sent to reporters, the former Vice Minister Kim said, "The news report by local cable TV station YTN is enough to constitute a serious case of defamation. We will take every possible legal action against those responsible for the coverage. My family has suffered for the last six years because of this scandal." This is the first time Kim has issued a public statement regarding the high-profile investigation since the probe was relaunched. He questioned the originality of the CD, as the person in the footage was never verified by a credible source and also the time that YTN claims the video was filmed differs from police findings.
Kim served as the No. 2 official in the Justice Ministry for six days during the Park administration in March 2013 before resigning over the orgy allegation. He's suspected of aggravated rape and giving favors for sex. The five-year statute of limitations for the sex-for-favors allegations has expired, but the 15-year statute of limitations on aggravated rape charges won’t expire until 2024.
Source: Yonhap News