Yoo In-tae: "Yoon Crossed the Line but Forgave... Because Choo Was More Inappropriate"

"Autumn-Yoon Conflict Tires the People... President and Cheongwadae Must Step Up"

Former Secretary General of the National Assembly Yoon In-tae. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Yoo In-tae, former Secretary General of the National Assembly, known as a pro-Roh Moo-hyun figure, commented on the parliamentary audit confrontation between Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, saying, "Although Prosecutor General Yoon crossed the line, Minister Choo showed a more inappropriate attitude, so it seems to be relatively tolerated."

On the 26th, Yoo appeared on SBS's 'Joo Young-jin's News Briefing' and said, "(Prosecutor General Yoon) was inappropriate in various aspects of attitude, such as interrupting while a lawmaker was questioning," but he analyzed, "Because the minister who appeared before him showed a more inappropriate attitude, (Prosecutor General Yoon) was relatively tolerated."

He continued, "In the past, if the head of the audited institution showed such an attitude, both ruling and opposition parties would criticize them together," adding, "However, when Minister Choo showed a much worse attitude than Prosecutor General Yoon, Democratic Party lawmakers remained silent and covered for her. Because this side (the ruling party) has a history, they have nothing to say about Prosecutor General Yoon's attitude."

He also added, "It felt like Prosecutor General Yoon was expressing the pent-up anger of a victim, so it was hard to say anything against him."

Yoo further argued that mediation by the Blue House is necessary for the conflict between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon. He said, "The public is tired of the conflict between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon," and "At first, people might have found the fight between the powerful interesting, but as it drags on too long, they are getting tired. The president and the Blue House need to step in and resolve it."

He expressed regret toward ruling party lawmakers who focused only on attacking Prosecutor General Yoon during the audit, saying, "'What if Democratic Party lawmakers had concentrated on what Prosecutor General Yoon thinks about prosecutorial reform, asking questions like 'Are you a pro-prosecution person denying prosecutorial reform?' or 'Was the excessive investigation of former Minister Cho Kuk last year also to block prosecutorial reform?'"

Earlier, on the 22nd, Prosecutor General Yoon appeared at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and made strong remarks toward Minister Choo, such as "The Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice" and "The exercise of investigative command authority is unjust." Since then, Minister Choo and ruling party lawmakers have continued harsh criticism toward Prosecutor General Yoon, saying things like "He crossed the line" and "Faust who sold his soul to the devil."