Lawmakers are demanding stronger protections for whistle-blowers after the girlfriend of comedian Lee Jin-ho, who reported him for drunk driving and was later found dead, became the subject of intense media scrutiny.
During the parliamentary audit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency by the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee on Tuesday, Rep. Park Duk-hyum of the People Power Party questioned how the identity of the person who reported Lee’s drunk driving case to police was leaked to the media.
“The fact that the person who reported the incident was Lee’s girlfriend drew public attention,” Park said. “She suffered psychological distress and eventually died.
“The protection of informants is of utmost importance,” Park added. “If people fear retaliation or disadvantage, who would dare to report such cases?”
Hwang Chang-seon, commissioner of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, said the report revealing the informant’s identity was first published by online outlet Dispatch.
“The circumstances surrounding the information leak have not been confirmed,” Hwang said, “but as you pointed out, revealing the identity of a person who reports a crime should never happen.”
Lee was caught driving under the influence early on Sept. 24, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.12 percent, after driving about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Incheon to his residence in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi, police said.
Dispatch reported that the person...
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