PM's Office issues warning to own official for asking lawmaker questions without identifying self

Seoul, September 11 (Yonhap) - The Prime Minister's Office has reprimanded one of its own officials after a lawmaker alleged the official impersonated a reporter and inquired during a National Assembly press conference. This occurred on Thursday during a press briefing regarding a lobbying scandal concerning the nominee for justice minister.

Midway through the session, an anonymous individual posed a question about the lawmaker's criticism of the prime minister the previous day. Upon inquiry as to the individual's affiliation, the person claimed to be an ordinary citizen. Subsequently, it was discovered that the individual was an official from the Prime Minister's Office.

In a parliamentary interpellation session later that day, the lawmaker criticized the prime minister for the incident, alleging it constituted covert monitoring of a lawmaker. The Prime Minister's Office refuted these claims, stating the official asked questions in an unplanned manner while navigating through the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly, a public area accessible to anyone.

While they denied the official's intentions were to secretly infiltrate the press conference, they admitted the official's behavior was improper. Consequently, a stern warning was issued by the office regarding this matter.