Former Leader Lee Hae-chan, in Interview: "Received Reports of Political Intrigue During Party Leadership"
"Yoon Demands Evidence... Investigation Difficult Due to Secrecy"
"Politics Is Morality and Common Sense... Yoon Will Be Impacted"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon sharply criticized former Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan, who mentioned that "politics has morality and common sense" in relation to the so-called 'report solicitation suspicion' during Yoon Seok-yeol's prosecution era.
On the 8th, Jin wrote on his Facebook that he was "at a loss for words" regarding Lee's statement on the 7th, "Politics is not only about legal elements but also about morality and common sense."
He also pointedly commented, "It seems nothing came out of the inspection."
On the 7th, Lee appeared on TBS radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and claimed that he received reports of political operations by the prosecution during his tenure as party leader.
He said, "When I was party leader, I received reports that about three operations were underway," adding, "The prosecution seemed to be preparing two of them, and it appears that one was this (report solicitation suspicion) and the other was related to Yoo Si-min."
He continued, "Yoon Seok-yeol demands 'show evidence,' but would such secretive matters leave evidence? The investigation itself will face difficulties. Legally, it is not a matter of qualification, but politics has morality and common sense. This will deal a heavy blow to candidate Yoon," he predicted.
He added, "If the prosecution's inspection is insufficient, we will urge an investigation, and if that does not work properly, the next step is a national audit where the National Assembly directly intervenes," but noted, "It is not yet time to talk about this."
The report solicitation suspicion centers on allegations that during former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's tenure, the prosecution solicited reports against pro-government figures and politicians to the United Future Party (predecessor of the People Power Party).
Earlier, on the 7th, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye appeared before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and stated regarding the suspicion, "There will be a joint inspection between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution," adding, "If proper clarification is lacking, we should consider transitioning to an investigative system."
However, Yoon's former campaign team strongly opposed, calling it a "stereotyped political operation."
Kim Byung-min, spokesperson for Yoon's campaign, issued a statement saying, "The ruling party is making every effort to bring down candidate Yoon, but all their claims are baseless," and "They are attacking candidate Yoon with nothing but fake news."
He continued, "When the internet media outlet 'Newsbus' framed it as a 'commissioned report,' the Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice eagerly joined in, and presidential candidates united in a full-scale attack. The public knows what this means," emphasizing, "It is time to break away from political operations."
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