The Democratic Party said on the 23rd that a transcript of the government's closed-door briefing on US investment to the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee had been leaked to the media, and that it would take legal action.

Party leader Kim Min-seok told a supreme council meeting that secretly recording the progress and results of negotiations with the United States and spreading it to the press was unprecedented and no different from industrial espionage. 'It is self-harm against the National Assembly and close to espionage,' he said.

'A Lawmaker Should Resign at Once'

The party said it would bring those who illegally recorded and circulated the briefing before the law, and argued that if the person turned out to be a lawmaker, they should give up their seat immediately.

The party did not name the affiliation of the person responsible. Asked whether it was a People Power Party lawmaker, Representative Jang Cheol-min said an investigation should proceed whichever party was involved.

The Weight of a Closed Briefing

Investment in the United States is a central pillar of the Korea-US trade agreement, with projects and terms still under negotiation. There is concern that leaks of closed briefings on matters involving a negotiating counterpart could expose the government's strategy. Others counter that the government is withholding information the public should know, so the episode may widen into a dispute over disclosure.