Yun Geon-yeong: "Opposition, Stop Trying to Drag the President into a Melodrama"

Yoon Gun-young, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Amid the opposition's continuous offensive against President Moon Jae-in's silence regarding the decision to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol from his duties, Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized on the 26th, saying, "Stop the despicable politics of dragging the president into this."

On the same day, Yoon posted on his Facebook, "What is the opposition's intention in demanding the president to take a stance on every issue?"

He added, "Countless opposition figures are pressuring the president, asking why he remains silent. Are they trying to put the president at the center of political strife and gang up on him to engage in a mudslinging fight?" He raised his voice, saying, "If the president says a word about a current issue, they plan to respond with ten or a hundred attacks, provoking and pressuring him with that intention in mind."

He sharply criticized, "Outwardly, they use the excuse of the people, but in the end, they are only calculating the benefits the opposition can gain from this chaos."

Yoon questioned, "Has the president really been hiding?" He continued, "Is the president’s participation in the APEC Summit, G20 Summit, and discussions with world leaders via video conference on COVID-19 response, meetings with companies to review the status of the AI national strategy, and listening to voices from the field about the Korean New Deal policy invisible to the opposition?"

He added, "Where exactly is the president who is visiting the field and taking care of people’s livelihoods hiding? Stop trying to use the president, who is struggling day by day to overcome the livelihood crisis, for Yeouido politics. Stop thinking about putting the president, who works fiercely every day, in the middle of Yeouido politics to shoot a melodrama."

Earlier, opposition figures such as Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, continued their criticism of President Moon, citing Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s decision to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon from his duties.

At the People Power Party emergency committee meeting that day, Floor Leader Joo criticized President Moon, saying, "There is not a single word about the unprecedented constitutional crisis of suspending the Prosecutor General’s duties and Minister Choo’s 'farce.'"

Former lawmaker Yoo also criticized on his Facebook on the 24th, calling him "a cowardly president who hides behind the Minister of Justice without saying a word," while Leader Ahn said, "The president’s silence is nothing but silence of conflict, discord, and despair."