Is the Blade of the 'Gobal Saju' Allegation Pointing Back to the People Power Party?

Yoon Seok-yeol Camp Raises Allegations Involving Hong Joon-pyo
Hong Warns "Prepare Yourself If You Continue Slandering
Don't Drag My Camp Into This"

Ruling Party Launches Full-Scale Attack Including 'Mother-in-Law Documents'
Song Young-gil Says "Prosecutor's Office Acts Like a Butler"

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The blade of the ‘accusation manipulation’ suspicion is shifting direction from the People Power Party (PPP) to the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and back to the PPP. As the dispute over responsibility among PPP presidential candidates intensifies, concerns are emerging that the party could become unstable ahead of the presidential election. Judging that the frames raised by the PPP, such as the ‘National Intelligence Service (NIS) involvement theory’ and the ‘tip-off manipulation theory,’ are not working effectively, the DPK is tightening its offensive related to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the central figure in the controversy. Their strategy is to add the ‘mother-in-law case response document’ of former Prosecutor General Yoon to the accusation manipulation suspicion.

For now, the offensive from PPP lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, who is fiercely competing with former Prosecutor General Yoon in approval ratings within the party, is intense. When Yoon’s camp raised allegations of Hong’s campaign being involved in the accusation manipulation suspicion, Hong’s side even used the phrase “be prepared.” On the 15th, Hong posted on his Facebook, “If you slander my camp one more time, be prepared then,” warning, “Do not drag my camp into this ‘muddy dogfight’.”

The ruling party also appears to have launched a full-scale offensive. At the Supreme Council meeting that day, DPK leader Song Young-gil said, “The detailed document related to the mother-in-law suspicion appears to be a defense brief unilaterally defending the mother-in-law,” adding, “The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, which was the hands and feet of (former Prosecutor General Yoon), acted like a butler and fixer to protect criminal charges. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office must thoroughly reveal which prosecutor wrote it through external inspection and investigation.” Floor leader Yoon Ho-jung also strongly criticized, saying, “The People Power Party is mobilizing all its forces today to protect candidate Yoon Seok-youl, who is turning the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office into an illegal political operation center and a free defense office for family and close aides.”

The response from Yoon’s camp was even compared to the ‘Ten Scoundrels Document.’ On the same day, DPK lawmaker Park Ju-min appeared on the radio and said, “When the Ten Scoundrels Document came out during the Park Geun-hye administration, the content of the document should have been verified, but instead, the source and circumstances were heavily attacked, and it was disguised as a document leak incident.” Park mentioned, “Lawmaker Jeong Jeong-sik effectively delivered the same content (the accusation letter), which eventually led to the accusation. It is likely that this was not just one person but moved by organizational connections,” raising the issue of responsibility within the PPP.

People Power Party presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol Photo by Yonhap News

Despite the continuous attacks, the defense from former Prosecutor General Yoon’s camp is not weak. Yoon’s camp claimed that the allegations related to the mother-in-law response document are “clear evidence of regime-level interference in the presidential election.” Kim Yong-nam, a former lawmaker serving as a special committee member for political operation fact-finding in Yoon’s camp, appeared on MBC radio on the 15th and raised suspicions, saying, “If that document was created at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, it should be stored on the PC of a certain researcher there. But it was leaked intact to a media company.” He added, “Due to the controversy over whether Park Ji-won, the head of the National Intelligence Service, was involved in the accusation manipulation suspicion, it can only be seen as an organized effort to release this at this timing to bring down candidate Yoon.”

The PPP is emphasizing daily at the party level that the core of the accusation manipulation controversy lies in the ‘tip-off manipulation’ through raising the theory of NIS involvement. PPP members of the Intelligence Committee demanded the immediate resignation of Park Ji-won, head of the NIS, and visited the NIS to protest. In their statement, they pointed out, “He forgot his position as the head of an intelligence agency and warned the opposition party’s presidential candidate not to ‘act up,’” criticizing, “His irrational political intimidation and threatening remarks have crossed the line.” They also urged President Moon Jae-in to dismiss Park Ji-won, seeking to escalate the controversy.