Yoon Seok-yeol Criticizes Moon's Silence... "True Responsibility Must Be Held for Election Manipulation"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential candidate from the opposition party, criticized President Moon Jae-in regarding the 'Druking Comment Manipulation Incident.'

On the 25th, Yoon stated on Facebook, "Holding the true perpetrators of election public opinion manipulation accountable is the way to protect democracy," adding, "If not, it will happen again."

Former Governor of Gyeongnam Province Kim Kyung-soo was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court on the 21st for his involvement in illegal public opinion manipulation using comments. Kim was a secretary during President Moon Jae-in's candidacy.

Yoon emphasized, "There has been a final Supreme Court ruling confirming that a large-scale public opinion manipulation led by a key aide of President Moon Jae-in actually took place. As you know, I investigated the National Intelligence Service comment case and was persecuted for a long time because of it. Even though I lost everything, I pursued that investigation because I believed that preventing election public opinion manipulation is protecting democracy."

He pointed out President Moon's 'silence.' Yoon said, "President Moon, the sole beneficiary of this public opinion manipulation, cannot even offer an excuse of feeling wronged and acts as if it is someone else's issue. It's as if he is saying, 'We are powerful; what can you do?' or 'The public will soon forget, so I will endure.' President Moon must respond and take responsibility. Is this something 'Secretary Kim Kyung-soo' should be held accountable for?"

Yoon argued that the special prosecutor and public judgment must hold the responsible parties and accomplices accountable. He said, "We must investigate the real perpetrators and accomplices and judge the political manipulation forces through the people's verdict in the election. Realistically, the special prosecutor Heo Ik-beom's activities should be extended or resumed to allow investigation of the true culprits and accomplices. It is time to move to the next stage. The statute of limitations was suspended during Kim's trial, so there is still time to hold the real responsible parties accountable."

Yoon continued, "If the truth about the manipulation confirmed by the Supreme Court's final ruling and the accountability of the real perpetrators are not thoroughly pursued and are brushed aside, the same public opinion manipulation will be carried out in this presidential election. If that happens, a small group manipulating public opinion, not the people, will govern for another 5 or 10 years, pretending to uphold democracy while blatantly ruining the country even more than now."