Lee Nak-yeon, a presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is entering the press conference room on the 2nd at the National Assembly Communication Hall to hold an emergency press conference regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea has demanded that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol clarify allegations of political manipulation by the prosecution ahead of last year's general election.
Kim Jin-wook, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated in a written briefing on the 2nd, "Today, an online news outlet exclusively reported that Yoon Seok-yeol's prosecution allegedly instructed the United Future Party (now the People Power Party) to file complaints." He added, "According to the article, Son Jun-sung, then the Policy Officer for Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and known as Yoon Seok-yeol's right-hand man, is suspected of delivering complaint documents against a total of 11 people, including Kim Woong, a current People Power Party lawmaker, Yoon Seok-yeol, Chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, Choi Kang-wook, Hwang Hee-seok, then proportional representation candidates of the Open Democratic Party, and seven media personnel who reported on articles critical of the prosecution such as the 'media-prosecution collusion allegations' and the 'Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case,' ahead of last year's general election."
He continued, "The mere raising of these allegations is an extremely serious matter," and said, "If the real-name court rulings were obtained not for investigation or intelligence gathering purposes but to be handed over to the opposition party, and if these were leaked externally, it clearly constitutes a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act."
He also said, "Lawmaker Kim Woong reportedly said, 'If the materials were received as a tip-off, passing them on to the party is not a problem at all,' but this is not an issue that can be taken lightly. We ask whether Lawmaker Kim Woong met with Prosecutor Son Jun-sung in April last year and whether he received complaint documents and evidence."
Spokesperson Kim said, "If Yoon Seok-yeol's prosecution instructed complaints against politicians and journalists, this is political manipulation. Did former Prosecutor General Yoon ever receive reports from Prosecutor Son regarding the complaint documents? We demand a clear explanation from former Prosecutor General Yoon."
He added, "The prosecution must clarify the facts of the news articles through an inspection of Prosecutor Son Jun-sung."
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