[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon engaged in a two-day heated debate over the retrial of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook and prosecutorial reform.
Earlier, on the 29th, allegations surfaced that the prosecution had coached witnesses to commit perjury during the investigation of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's case.
In response, Governor Lee called for prosecutorial reform, citing his own 'forced hospitalization of his elder brother' case, which is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.
Lee stated, "Even after the Candlelight Revolution, they tried to end the political life of the governor elected by 13.7 million residents with overwhelming support through evidence fabrication and concealment."
He continued, "After great hardship, I was acquitted of abuse of power charges, but due to the prosecution's flashy media play, I had already become an unapproachable scoundrel before sentencing, and the pain and public misunderstanding that made me contemplate extreme choices still continue."
He added, "With a sense of shared suffering, I support former Prime Minister Han's retrial movement."
In response, former professor Jin posted on Facebook the same day, saying, "Governor, you are mistaken. It was not the prosecution but the Moonbaes (hardcore supporters of President Moon Jae-in) who tried to end your political life at that time."
He said, "It was the Moonbaes who even took out newspaper ads about 'Hyekyunggung Kimssi,' and the prosecution merely received the complaint from Jeon Hae-cheol, a pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) core figure who was interested in sidelining you in the primary."
He added, "Why do you pick a fight with the prosecution while leaving those who tried to end your political life alone?"
In response, on the 31st, Governor Lee posted an article titled "Professor Jin Joong-kwon, Please Talk About the Moon, Not the Finger."
He wrote, "Regardless of the guilt or innocence of former Prime Minister Han or former Minister Cho Kuk, I meant to say that I am also a victim of the prosecution's procedural injustice, such as evidence fabrication and witch hunts."
Regarding Jin's post, he explained, "While the court's final judgment must be respected, it cannot be the absolute truth, which is why the law allows retrials. If a prosecutor abused authority and committed perjury coaching, they must be punished, and it is procedural justice to give the accused claiming innocence another chance for trial, which is as important as substantive justice regarding guilt or innocence."
He added, "The finger may be important to you, professor, but for someone else, the moon is more important. When pointing at the moon, why not talk about the moon?"
Then, former professor Jin retorted, "The way to eliminate criminals in the Republic of Korea at once is to abolish the prosecution. Of course, that won't eliminate crime, but at least it will eliminate criminals."
He added, "Cho Kuk, Han Myeong-sook, Yoo Jae-soo, Choi Kang-wook, Jeon Byeong-heon, Hwang Un-ha, and even Lee Jae-myung. There are too many victims of the prosecution."
Later, he shared news articles covering the exchange between him and Governor Lee in another post.
He claimed, "The prosecution has little interest in ending the governor's 'political life,' but those who cared about ending the governor's political life were the fanatic Moon fans, pro-Moon powerbroker Jeon Hae-cheol who used them for his own politics, and other party camps who joined their coalition campaign."
He added, "It is always the political circles that summon the prosecution by filing complaints against each other," calling that the 'moon.'
He continued, "I'm not pointing out that the finger is dirty, but that the direction of the finger is wrong."
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