Yoon Seok-yeol and Kim Woong Both Deny, Saying "It Is Not True"
Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae (left), former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. /Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Regarding the suspicion that a close aide of then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol ordered the opposition party to file criminal complaints against ruling party politicians just before the April 15 general election last year, former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk launched a fierce attack against former Prosecutor General Yoon, calling it a "political conspiracy gate."
Former Minister Choo wrote on her Facebook on the 2nd, "The National Assembly should immediately convene the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to investigate the truth and hold those involved accountable. The Ministry of Justice must promptly begin an inspection. If the allegations are true, this is clearly a political conspiracy gate," raising her voice.
Former Minister Choo criticized, "While I was well aware of Yoon's preliminary candidate's political prosecution behavior during my tenure as minister, I never imagined that he would directly draft a blank complaint and even attach evidence to order the opposition party to file a complaint," adding, "This shows the extreme of political prosecution evil deeds that surpass 70 years of prosecutorial dark history."
Former Minister Cho also shared related articles on Facebook that day, calling it "a clear power crime equivalent to the National Intelligence Service's political conspiracy," and said, "The 'Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Policy Officer' who ordered the complaint is a position known as the 'eyes and ears of the Prosecutor General' and reports directly to the General. I expected it, but it is too shocking. An immediate investigation is necessary."
He added, "The prosecution under Yoon's preliminary candidacy ordering complaints against five MBC reporters, one Newstapa reporter, and one PD is not only an infringement on press freedom but a clear criminal act."
He also targeted Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party suspected of receiving the complaint from the prosecution, questioning, "Is it 'whistleblowing' for the prosecution to draft complaints against ruling party politicians and provide them to the opposition party?"
Earlier, the online media 'Newsbus' reported on April 3 last year that Son Joon-sung, then Investigation Information Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and a close aide of Prosecutor General Yoon, delivered criminal complaints against pro-government politicians to Kim, who was an opposition party parliamentary candidate.
According to the report, the targets of the complaint ordered by Prosecutor Son were three ruling party politicians including Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, and Choi Kang-wook and Hwang Hee-seok, then proportional representation candidates of the Open Democratic Party, as well as seven media personnel. The defamation victims were former Prosecutor General Yoon, his wife Kim Geon-hee, and his closest aide, Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon.
The main content of the complaint was that the reports by Newstapa in February last year on "Kim Geon-hee's alleged additional manipulation related to Deutsche Motors" and MBC's "suspicion of collusion between prosecution and media" damaged their honor, and Prosecutor Son reportedly left the complainant section blank and handed it over to Kim.
Regarding this, Kim Byung-min, spokesperson for former Prosecutor General Yoon's campaign, issued a statement that day, saying, "This is a conspiracy and political plot aimed at tarnishing Yoon Seok-yeol's preliminary candidacy, and Newsbus must bear appropriate responsibility. Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol clearly states that he never ordered anyone to file complaints during his tenure as Prosecutor General," denying the allegations.
Kim Woong also said in a statement, "Although it is claimed to be a commissioned complaint, it is not true at all," and "There is absolutely no problem in delivering materials received as tips to the party from the office of a member of the National Assembly."
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