Opposition Party Fully Agrees with Yoon Seok-yeol's 'Opposition to Prosecution Reform'

Criticism of the Ruling Party's Push to Establish the 'Jungdaebeomjoe Susacheong'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The opposition party expressed support for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who opposed the government and ruling party's prosecution reform, and voiced opposition to the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, introduced Prosecutor General Yoon’s interview on Facebook on the 2nd, stating, "I fully agree with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol’s appeal that if the prosecution’s investigative authority is abolished, the criminal justice system will collapse and corruption will run rampant."

In an interview with Kukmin Ilbo on the same day, Prosecutor General Yoon responded to the question, "Do you think this is an attempt to shake the prosecution?" by saying, "Our society, which has developed democracy, is regressing and facing a crisis where constitutional values are being denied," and expressed his determination by saying, "If I can stop it by risking my position, I will do so a hundred times over."

Leader Ahn has actively supported Prosecutor General Yoon and criticized the government’s prosecution reform. In January last year, he issued a statement regarding the Ministry of Justice’s personnel reshuffle of mid-level prosecutors, saying, "We will protect and support Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol together with the people so that he can investigate the living powers to the end."

Bae Jun-young, spokesperson for the People Power Party, also commented on Prosecutor General Yoon’s interview, saying, "It is a sign that the conflict between the administration and the prosecution has reached a critical point," and added, "It is resistance against the attempt to overhaul South Korea’s criminal justice system using the National Assembly as a rubber stamp."

He further criticized the ruling party’s push for the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, saying, "Despite public concerns, the Democratic Party is recklessly trying to create the Serious Crime Investigation Agency to completely neutralize the prosecution," and "They are pushing it through like a military operation aiming for June this year." Such remarks align with Prosecutor General Yoon’s negative stance on the government and ruling party’s ongoing prosecution reform efforts.

He continued, "It is an absurd tyranny trying to replace the general holding the sword, then reorganize the army when that fails, and finally abolish the army and establish another one when that also fails," emphasizing, "The legislative dictatorship of the administration will surely be judged by history."