Lee Cheol-woo: "Yoon Seok-yeol is the right person to restore political and judicial balance... overlaps with Lee Jun-seok's fairness"

"Beyond Fair Competition, We Must Also Consider Fairness in Real Opportunities"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is attending the opening ceremony of Namsan Yejang Park in Seoul on the afternoon of the 9th and answering questions from the press. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] As former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of his presidential bid approaches, Professor Lee Cheol-woo of Yonsei University Law School, known as a childhood friend, stated on the 16th during a lecture titled "True to Name, Conservative" for first-term lawmakers of the People Power Party, "There is an urgent need for unifying leadership that can restore democracy, the rule of law, and the balance between politics and the judiciary," adding, "The person who best fits this unifying leadership is former Prosecutor General Yoon."

During the lecture on the theme of "Judicialization of Politics and Politicization of the Judiciary," when asked by reporters whether it was problematic that former Prosecutor General Yoon, who served as the head of the prosecution, is now running for president, Professor Lee responded, "It is not," emphasizing, "He has felt many limitations of the judiciary through his career and holds strong convictions about finding a balance between politics and the judiciary." He continued, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon was not someone who resisted the original intent of prosecutorial reform," adding, "However, prosecutorial reform took a different direction and its meaning faded, so when Yoon resigned, he had no choice but to take that path." He reiterated that Yoon is "someone who will carry out state affairs with a keen awareness of the balance between politics and the judiciary more than anyone else."

Professor Lee also interpreted that former Prosecutor General Yoon’s sense of fairness overlaps in many ways with that of Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party. He said, "As a lifelong friend, I have observed Yoon’s life journey and can understand his philosophy," adding, "Yoon’s fairness has two aspects. One is applying a fair standard to everyone. He demonstrated this by applying it to those in power."

He further explained, "The reason I think he might resonate with Leader Lee is related to Yoon’s philosophy of creating a society where anyone can plan their life predictably through effort," saying, "It is about creating a predictable society that allows people to plan their lives and fosters fair competition." However, he added, "Beyond that, Yoon will consider whether everyone can truly have equal opportunities," and "He will contemplate together on what to do to bring about more substantial fairness in opportunities."

When asked about the ‘chemistry’ between former Prosecutor General Yoon and Leader Lee, Professor Lee bluntly said, "Yoon is not a member of the People Power Party." Nevertheless, he suggested Yoon’s involvement by stating, "I believe that for a regime change to be possible, the new politics sparked by Leader Lee and the moderate public sentiment must be combined with the politics of someone with a broad political spectrum."