Park Beom-gye, to Yoon Seok-yeol: "Straighten Your Posture"
Opposition: "They called Yoon Seok-yeol a righteous prosecutor... but he's despicable," "Park Jeok Park"
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is arguing with Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit held at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 22nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s inspection of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held on the 22nd, told Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye, who was pressing him, "You didn't treat me like this in the past," while opposition lawmakers also pointed out Park's changed attitude compared to before. In the past, Park had shown a friendly and favorable attitude, even calling Yoon "hyung" (older brother).
On the same day, Kim Geun-sik, professor at Gyeongnam National University and head of the People Power Party’s Songpa-byeong district committee in Seoul, criticized Park in a post on his Facebook, saying, "You once said Prosecutor General Yoon was a righteous prosecutor, but now you say he is actually a bad prosecutor? That is truly despicable."
Professor Kim pointed out, "Park is now criticizing Yoon Seok-yeol by bringing up even the time when Yoon was the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, saying that the Optimus investigation referral case was dismissed without charges."
He continued, "The number of cases received by the Central District Prosecutors' Office annually is at least in the hundreds of thousands, and many cases are concluded by the chief prosecutor without reporting to the head of the office. The 2018 Optimus investigation referral was before it was recognized as a major fraud case," adding, "It is truly despicable to now attack Yoon by bringing up a case he was not even informed about as the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office."
He said, "You praised Yoon, who led the fight against deep-rooted evils, but now you are blaming him for dismissing the Optimus case? This kind of double standard?'swallow when sweet, spit when bitter'?is exactly what politicizes the prosecution. Seeing the prosecution as a tool for selective acceptance and rejection is what creates political prosecution," he emphasized.
Earlier that day, Park criticized Yoon during the inspection, referring to the 2018 Optimus case, which was dismissed without charges when Yoon was head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, saying, "How can such a sloppy and careless dismissal be possible?" Park also raised his voice at Yoon, saying, "Straighten up your posture," and "You are now in the position of an audited institution."
In response, on the same day, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Byung-wook wrote on Facebook, "Ah... Seok-yeol hyung! Why are the younger ones acting like that?" Along with this, he posted a message Park wrote to Yoon in 2013.
At that time, Park said to Yoon, "Yoon Seok-yeol hyung! It is so sad that the reality of South Korea and the prosecution forces me to call you a righteous prosecutor," and "Although we are classmates from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, I have never had a long conversation with you. The reality that I have no choice but to appeal to you to stay in the prosecution and not yield to injustice makes me resentful."
Park and Yoon are classmates from the 23rd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Park was born in 1963, and Yoon in 1960, making Yoon three years older.
People Power Party lawmaker Cho Su-jin also criticized Park on her Facebook, calling the fact that Park, who once supported Yoon, is now fiercely attacking him during the inspection "Parkjeokpark." "Parkjeokpark" means "Park Beom-gye’s enemy is the past Park Beom-gye."
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