Kim Jong-in: "Lime and Optimus Confusion Should Be Handled by Special Prosecutor... Ruling Party Should Accept It"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, officially proposed the implementation of a special prosecutor investigation, mentioning the prison letter of former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun and stating, "There is considerable confusion surrounding the Lime and Optimus cases."

At the Emergency Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 19th, Chairman Kim said, "It seems that an unimaginable dispute is occurring between the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice over a letter written in prison by one of the suspects in the Lime scandal (former Chairman Kim)."

He added, "Such a situation is probably an unprecedented phenomenon that no past government has experienced," and questioned, "Can the public trust the objectivity of the investigation when the prosecution and the Ministry of Justice are showing such behavior?"

As a solution, he suggested a special prosecutor investigation, saying, "If the government and ruling party are willing to cooperate in conducting what is called an objective investigation into this case, I request that they accept the special prosecutor investigation proposed by our party."

He also pressured the ruling party to take a clear stance on whether to field candidates in the by-elections. Chairman Kim said, "The by-elections are being held because the mayors of Seoul and Busan are involved in sexual crimes, but the results of the sexual crime investigations have still not been properly announced," and added, "The Democratic Party has clearly stated in its party rules that if an election is held due to such reasons (sexual crimes), they will not field candidates. I ask them to take a clear stance."

Floor Leader Joo Ho-young also criticized, "Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s active role in the prosecution investigations related to key figures of this administration is truly remarkable," and pointed out, "This was the case with the collusion between the media and authorities incident and the Ulsan mayoral election manipulation investigation as well, but whenever Minister Choo intervenes, the essence of the case becomes obscured, the focus shifts to irrelevant issues, and the investigation ceases to progress, repeatedly."

He said, "We can no longer entrust the investigation of this case to the 'Choo Mi-ae prosecution,'" and noted, "As you know well, the heads of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, who are investigating the Lime and Optimus cases, are known to be pro-Choo Mi-ae and pro-government figures."

Floor Leader Joo said, "When these people’s investigations stall and problems arise, instead of holding them accountable, they absurdly shift the blame to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, only to be refuted within an hour, yet Minister Choo remains calm and unshaken," and added, "We must entrust the case to a special prosecutor for a thorough investigation, and both ruling and opposition parties should stop the political strife surrounding this issue. We will submit a special prosecutor bill soon to ensure the implementation of the special prosecutor investigation."

Regarding the government's issuance of 'consumption coupons,' Floor Leader Joo criticized, "The Moon Jae-in administration was responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in the metropolitan area in August," and said, "Have they forgotten this lesson and are issuing coupons again?"

He said, "The government says it is time to balance daily life and quarantine measures, but wasn’t this the administration that once said quarantine is the economy and insisted on prioritizing quarantine above all?" and added, "Due to government policies, COVID-19 outbreaks have been recurring periodically, and every time there is a spread, responsibility is shifted elsewhere, and constitutional basic rights such as freedom of expression are restricted. I hope such controversies will never happen again."