SBS‘s fan-favorite program, Unanswered Questions, well-loved for its investigative episodes, has issued an official apology to the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, eight years after first raising allegations about him.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung | YNA
On March 20, 2026 (KST), the program released an official statement addressing its July 21, 2018 episode titled “Power and Gangs: One Year After the Pattaya Murder Case.” At the time, the broadcast suggested possible ties between Seongnam-area politicians and organized crime, and reported that Lee—then governor of Gyeonggi Province—had been listed as a lawyer for two members of the Seongnam International Mafia faction in 2007.
However, the program now acknowledged that these allegations were not legally substantiated.
Following the broadcast, Bundang Police launched an investigation and, in November 2018, forwarded the case to prosecutors, recommending against indictment. The Seongnam District Prosecutors’ Office ultimately decided not to pursue charges in December 2018.
In addition, the Supreme Court recently upheld a March 12 ruling sentencing attorney Jang Young Ha, who had claimed Lee received money from the same criminal group, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for spreading false information under the election law.
The said “Unanswered Questions” episode on the president. | SBS
Taking these developments into account, the program admitted that the alleged connection between Lee and the Seongnam International Mafia had been legally determined to be false, and apologized for raising suspicions without sufficient evidence.
The apology came shortly after President Lee Jae Myung took to his X and publicly called out the program, questioning whether it would issue a follow-up report and what it would contain. He also openly demanded an apology, saying he hoped to hear “a sincere word of apology.”
이재명 조폭연루설을 만든 그것이 알고싶다는 과연 순순히 추후보도할 지, 한다면 어떤 내용으로 보도할 지 궁금합니다.
그알 PD의 기적의 논리, 김상중씨의 리얼 연기 덕분에 졸지에 살인조폭으로까지 몰렸습니다.
이 방송은 나를 제거하기 위해 동원된 물리적 테러, 검찰을 통한 사법리스크 조작,… https://t.co/fkmx8Goc4L
— 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) March 19, 2026
In a strongly worded post, Lee further claimed that the broadcast had portrayed him as a “murderous gangster overnight,” and suggested the episode was part of a broader effort to politically damage him through media manipulation and fabricated allegations.
I wonder whether Unanswered Questions, which created the allegations of my ties to organized crime, will willingly issue a follow-up report, and if so, what it will say.
Thanks to the program’s producer’s ‘miraculous logic’ and show host Kim Sang Joong’s ‘realistic acting,’ I was suddenly portrayed as a murderous gangster overnight.
This broadcast appears to have been part of a broader effort to eliminate me—one that included physical threats, manipulation of judicial risks through the prosecution, and a media-driven campaign to damage my image.
The producer who was reassigned to Unanswered Questions and made this their first project reportedly left the program shortly after. I wonder whether that producer still believes I am connected to organized crime. After this broadcast, they even announced a follow-up program and spent months soliciting tips from the public, deploying a large investigative team to scour Seongnam. I question whether they found even a single piece of credible evidence. If there had been even the slightest basis, wouldn’t they have aired a follow-up?
To prevent people from being buried in a grave of lies for political purposes, there must be reflection and an apology from those who fabricated and spread these claims, whether it be the People Power Party or programs like Unanswered Questions.
It may be asking too much, but I would like to hear a sincere word of apology.
— President Lee Jae Myung
Following his remarks, the program formally issued its apology, stating it would adhere to SBS’s journalism guidelines moving forward and strive for accurate and objective reporting.
Read the full apology below:
On Unanswered Questions, in the July 21, 2018 broadcast titled “Power and Gangs: One Year After the Pattaya Murder Case,” we raised allegations of connections between Seongnam-area politicians and organized crime, and reported that then–Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae Myung had been included on the list of legal representatives for two members of the Seongnam International Mafia in 2007.
Following the broadcast, Bundang Police launched an investigation and, in November 2018, forwarded the case to prosecutors with a recommendation not to indict. The Seongnam District Prosecutors’ Office, which took over the case, issued a decision not to prosecute in December 2018.
In addition, ahead of the 2021 presidential election, attorney Jang Young Ha—who claimed that candidate Lee Jae Myung had received money from the Seongnam International Mafia—was found guilty under the Public Official Election Act for spreading false information, and on March 12, the Supreme Court finalized his sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years.
Accordingly, the allegations of a connection between then–Governor Lee Jae Myung and the Seongnam International Mafia have been legally determined to be untrue.
Unanswered Questions apologizes for raising suspicions without sufficient evidence based on the fact that Lee Jae Myung had been included on the list of legal representatives.
Moving forward, Unanswered Questions will comply with the ‘SBS Journalism Guidelines,’ established and implemented in 2024, and will strive to produce accurate and objective broadcasts.
— “Unanswered Questions” Production Team
Source: xportsnews (1) and (2)
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