[Summary] Cho Kuk "Hyena," Chu Mi-ae "Must Drop Arrogance"... Former Justice Ministers' Bitter Criticism Toward Yoon Seok-yeol

April 4 Yoon Seok-yeol Prosecutor General's Resignation Announcement
Cho Kuk "Hyenas That Only Gnawed at Dead Power"
Chu Mi-ae "Must Abandon Arrogance That Only I Am Righteous"

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae (left) and former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] On the 4th, former Ministers of Justice Cho Kuk and Choo Mi-ae harshly criticized Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who announced his resignation. Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk shared a post likening Yoon to a "hyena that only bites dead power," while former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae pointed out, "One must abandon the arrogance of thinking that only oneself is righteous."

On the same day, former Minister Cho introduced part of a column by Lee Jae-sung, a member of the Human Rights Solidarity Steering Committee, on his Facebook page. The post stated, "The Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution was a hyena," and explained, "The reason why the 'investigation of the living power' that the Yoon prosecution claims is laughable is because it is based on a deceptive illusion frame."

It continued, "The desire for investigations into living power arose from public opinion formed during authoritarian governments when the prosecution consistently overlooked obvious government corruption," and "When a liberal government that relinquishes power for prosecution reform takes office, it conducts excessive investigations with the determination to create cases even where none exist."

Additionally, the post shared by former Minister Cho included, "It is a kind of shell game strategy using time lag, where the liberal government turns the heightened demands caused by the previous government's mistakes into a shield to protect the organization," and "It is like a hyena that only bit dead power now crowding around a lion that has given up fighting, boasting 'We can attack the living power too.' The secret to how the hyena, with its shabby appearance, became the outlaw of the plains lies in its servile behavior of being strong against the weak and weak against the strong, a 'strong-weak-weak-strong' approach."

Partial Facebook posts by former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. Photo by Cho Kuk and Choo Mi-ae, former Ministers of Justice, Facebook captures.

Former Minister Choo also posted on her Facebook page that day under the title, "One must abandon the arrogance of 'only I am righteous,'" saying, "Let's move from political prosecution to normal prosecution." She stated, "Criminals should be criminal-like, and prosecutors should be prosecutor-like. That is the true meaning of separating investigation and prosecution," adding, "It means restoring the prosecutor's original authority over investigations and returning to normal prosecution."

She continued, "It is a reality that some members of the prosecution still do not agree with relinquishing the prosecutor's direct investigative authority," and pointed out, "However, even prosecutors can easily fall into confirmation bias thinking 'only I am righteous' when they become the subject of investigation, and lose objectivity by directly confronting crime."

Furthermore, she explained, "The prosecutor's authority to direct investigations is a legal investigative control right (or judicial control right) based on a cooperative relationship," and "The complete relinquishment of the prosecution's direct investigative authority is not an end in itself but a prerequisite for properly exercising investigative direction authority. Through this, the prosecution regains its rightful status as the normal investigative director as defined by our constitution and laws, not alienation from investigations."

Choo said, "The Prosecutor General intimidates the public by using a neologism 'corruption complete collapse' suggesting that if the investigative agency is established, all investigative powers of prosecutors will disappear and corruption will run rampant," and emphasized, "I firmly state that the separation of investigation and prosecution will not cause problems in investigative capabilities. The professionalism of investigations and prevention of abuse of investigative authority are separate issues."

She added, "As the head of the prosecution, one should not lead frontline prosecutors into turmoil," and "There is a proper duty as a public official to guide and communicate what the desirable future image of prosecutors is for the protection of the people's rights."

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is giving a farewell speech as he leaves the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 4th after resigning. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Prosecutor General Yoon held a press conference at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the same day, stating, "The constitutional spirit and rule of law system that have supported this country are being destroyed," and abruptly announced his resignation. Yoon emphasized, "The damage caused by the destruction of the rule of law system will directly fall on the people," and "I can no longer stand by and watch the collapse of justice and common sense that this society has painstakingly built."

He added, "My work at the prosecution ends here," and "However, as I have done so far, I will continue to do my best to protect liberal democracy and the people, no matter what position I hold in the future." Subsequently, President Moon Jae-in accepted Yoon's resignation about an hour after his announcement.