The chief prosecutor on Monday demanded a local daily publish a correction on reports of him allegedly having a child through an extramarital affair.

The Chosun Ilbo, one of the nation’s major newspaper outlets, reported last week that Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook has a son born in 2002 from a woman whom he met in 1999. The boy left for the United States last month and had attended a private elementary school in Seoul before then, the report claimed. Chae has a daughter with his wife.

Calling it “groundless,” Chae strongly denied the report and said he was willing to take a DNA test to reveal the truth.

The chief prosecutor also said he will consider taking additional measures if the newspaper refuses to issue a correction “as soon as possible.”

To this, the main opposition Democratic Party said that the report was intended to sway the prosecution’s ongoing investigations into a number of politically sensitive cases.

“There are rumors that the reports are the collaboration of a media (company) and authorities to reverse an attempt to reform the National Intelligence Service,” DP spokesman Kim Kwan-young said.

The prosecution is currently investigating the state spy agency’s alleged political intervention during the last presidential election. The former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon and ex-Seoul police chief have been indicted for their alleged roles in the political scandal.


By Cho Chung-un
(christory@heraldcorp.com)