Kim Woong "A world where pet prosecutors who protect the regime's mood prevail"
Ruling party "Inappropriate remarks... apologize"
Opposition "‘Attacking Kim Woong’... Chu Mi-ae's sporadic personnel moves"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] The ruling and opposition parties continue to clash over the prosecution personnel appointments made by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. The opposition party fiercely criticized the appointments, calling them a rise of 'pet prosecutors.' In contrast, the ruling party retorted by labeling them 'pet lawmakers,' intensifying the political dispute surrounding the prosecution personnel decisions.
On the 8th, Kim Woong, a member of the United Future Party, shared an article on his Facebook stating that former Gwangju District Prosecutor Moon Chan-seok had resigned, adding, "Personally, the best time was when I worked with Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il and Chief Prosecutor Moon Chan-seok."
He continued, "Prosecutor Moon Chan-seok, who was known as the Grim Reaper of Yeouido, is gone, and now a world where pet prosecutors?whose only experience is being lapdogs and mood guards of the regime?are gaining power has emerged. Still, there are many prosecutors who do not cling to their positions and do not yield to the tyranny of power. Wolves do not eat pet food," he criticized.
In response, ruling party lawmakers demanded an apology and immediately criticized him. On the 9th, Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party, posted on his Facebook titled 'Is Representative Kim Woong a spokesperson for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl?' urging, "Please apologize for your abusive remarks."
Kim said, "Can you dare to spew such abusive language indiscriminately against those who have quietly and responsibly performed their duties while holding key positions within the prosecution? If Prosecutor General Yoon's close aides do not get promoted, is it wrong personnel appointments that do not reflect Yoon's intentions, and does that mean a world where 'pet prosecutors' dominate?" he questioned.
He added, "Then are you saying only Yoon's close aides should be promoted and become chief prosecutors? I believe a culture should be established where prosecutors who have quietly worked on the front lines get promoted, regardless of specific factions within the prosecution or connections and backing. I ask for an apology, thinking of the fellow prosecutors who worked with the people," he demanded.
He further stated, "Even when criticizing, one should use dignified language and not cross the line. If you want to criticize, please attack Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, the Blue House, and the ruling party instead. Please do not use abusive language against frontline prosecutors who have devoted many years as public officials and have been promoted with difficulty. The expression is really too harsh," he criticized.
Park Beom-gye, a Democratic Party lawmaker, also pointed out on his Facebook on the 8th, "Pet prosecutors, wolves that do not eat pet food. A United Future Party lawmaker who is a former prosecutor used this as a metaphor for the recent prosecution personnel appointments?" and added, "Please, let's end the world where our prosecutors are compared to animals. Are wolf prosecutors really good?"
Yang Hyang-ja, a Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized the 'pet prosecutor' remark on the 10th on YTN Radio's 'Starting Morning,' saying, "I think it is proper to accept persuasive criticism, but it is inappropriate for a conservative opposition lawmaker who was a prosecutor to say things that are hard to put into words about people who were colleagues until recently."
Yang added, "I wonder when prosecutors were ever pets. Rather, I think prosecutors tried to tame every regime as pets," she added.
Within the Democratic Party, criticism also arose against former Prosecutor Moon Chan-seok, who made harsh remarks targeting Justice Minister Choo's personnel decisions.
Kim Yong-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker, posted on his Facebook on the 9th, "The resignation personnel appointment of Moon Chan-seok, who served as Gwangju District Prosecutor, is utterly petty. It seems as if he claims that prosecution reform is problematic and this personnel appointment is wrong because he suffered personnel disadvantages," and criticized, "If you copy the standards the prosecution usually applies, Moon Chan-seok was disadvantaged because of incompetence."
On the same day, he posted another message regarding the 'pet prosecutor' remark, saying, "Kim Woong also compares prosecutors to 'dogs.' Then I am curious who are Prosecutor General Yoon's pet prosecutors. I think they play a role in the prosecution network that obstructs prosecution reform."
Kim Jong-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker, also said on the 10th on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "It is really frustrating that such a person has served in public office for decades," and pointed out, "During the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, no one ever said 'incompetent monarch' or 'incompetent commander' even once."
Kim said, "The old days were better. During the Park Geun-hye administration, the political sphere intervened, and the Civil Affairs Office or the Minister of Justice constantly directed investigations through phone calls. But now, even if investigation directives are made through documents, they resist by saying 'unfair pressure.' They are attacking, but it is wrong," he emphasized.
On the other hand, the United Future Party launched an offensive targeting Justice Minister Choo, who made the prosecution personnel appointments, supporting Representative Kim Woong.
Bae Jun-young, a spokesperson for the United Future Party, released a statement on the 9th, saying, "The main thread of this personnel appointment is the 'Choo Mi-ae faction' loyal to herself and the regime, and it is close to a legal community consensus that it was a reward and promotion appointment," strongly criticizing it as "piecemeal personnel appointments."
Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, said at an emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th, "Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae praised the personnel appointments as being based on regional balance and principles, but she filled four key prosecution positions with people from a specific region," and criticized, "Saying it is regional balance is just laughable."
He added, "If personnel appointments are everything and these are good appointments, that is sophistry, and if you really believe so, it can only be described as cognitive dissonance," he added.
Kwon Young-se, a United Future Party lawmaker, compared Kim Nam-guk to a 'pet lawmaker,' saying, "When Representative Kim Woong recently criticized some prosecutors as 'pet prosecutors,' 'pet lawmakers,' borrowing Kim's expression, rebutted him," criticizing them.
Jo Soo-jin defined the Democratic Party's criticism of Kim Woong as 'beating Kim Woong,' raising her voice, "With what shame do you glare and throw stones at someone?"
Jo said in a post on her Facebook on the 9th, "If you have even a little shame, you should start by reflecting. Don't be deluded that the world has completely changed because you won the general election," she said.
Regarding Kim Nam-guk, she pointed out, "He appeared on a sexual harassment podcast and yet shamelessly shouts 'fake justice' and 'fake fairness' without a single apology," and about Park, she said, "He is a shameless person who criticized a 'strange accent' and a 'specific region' as a whole and yet has not issued a public apology," she criticized.
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