Joo Ho-young "Choo Mi-ae suffered humiliation from being pushed around by subordinates"
Lee Jong-bae "Ruling party attacks Prosecutor General like a witch hunt"
Kim Woong "Ruling party lawmakers cannot overcome skill gap"
Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the National Assembly's audit countermeasure meeting held on the 23rd. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] On the 22nd, during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the opposition party came to the defense of Yoon Seok-yeol, the Chief Inspector General, who clashed with ruling party lawmakers by making 'determined remarks.'
On the morning of the 23rd, Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, quoted a line from the movie Friend, "Stop it, you've eaten enough," during a National Assembly audit strategy meeting, urging the resignation of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae.
He pointed out, "Several new facts emerged through yesterday's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. There was controversy over whether the Prosecutor General is a subordinate of the Minister of Justice, but if, as Minister Choo claims, Yoon is a subordinate, then Minister Choo has suffered the humiliation of being confronted by two subordinates."
He continued, "Minister Choo has already done great damage to the prosecution and protected the regime, so it would be better for her to step down," adding, "If she knows when to quit, it is right to do so even now."
He also criticized the Democratic Party lawmakers on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, saying they "showed typical examples of double-talk, duplicity, and sophistry."
Lee Jong-bae, the policy chief of the same party, targeted ruling party lawmakers, saying, "Seeing them attack the Prosecutor General, whom they praised so much at the audit, at a witch-hunt level, made me wonder again who this audit is really for," and criticized, "It is utterly incomprehensible at a common-sense level why they are brutally attacking the Prosecutor General to hide something."
Kim Woong, a lawmaker with a prosecutorial background, wrote on his Facebook that day, "(The Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit) felt like watching the movie Gladiator," evaluating, "Tying up a battle-hardened general, insulting him with rookies, and using all sorts of schemes, but ultimately unable to overcome the difference in ability."
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is responding to lawmakers' questions during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held on the 22nd in Yeouido, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, Chief Inspector General Yoon attended the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit at the National Assembly on the previous day (22nd). On that day, he responded to lawmakers' questions with 'determined remarks.'
When Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye raised his voice, saying, "Unfortunately, I have come to doubt Yoon's sense of justice and compassion," Yoon retorted, "Isn't that selective suspicion?" and added, "You didn't feel that way about me in the past, did you?"
Regarding Minister Choo's claim in a Facebook post on the 21st that "Before angrily calling it slander, Yoon should have first reflected and apologized as a commander," Yoon responded, "I cannot understand on what grounds it was announced that the Prosecutor General was also involved in a poor investigation," and said, "'Slander' is the most polite word I can use."
When asked about his stance on the prosecution personnel plan, he expressed strong dissatisfaction, saying, "The personnel plan was already all set," and "There is no way to make such personnel changes."
During the audit, Yoon emphasized that he has no intention of resigning, stating, "My term is a promise to the people."
He said, "Regarding my position, the appointing authority (President Moon Jae-in) has not yet spoken," and added, "No matter what pressure there is, I intend to fulfill my duties."
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