Hong Jun-pyo "Political investigations difficult to accept with my investigative philosophy"
Jin Joong-kwon "Hong, the one who cheered 'Fighting' for Yoon Seok-yeol during the Cho Kuk incident"
On the afternoon of June 20th, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon is giving a special lecture at the inaugural general meeting of the 'Hope 22 Companion Forum' held at a cafe in Dalseo-gu, Daegu. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Hong Jun-pyo, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, stated regarding the 'investigation of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk' that "I still believe it was not unjust but excessive." In response, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon directly criticized, saying, "I think Hong's remark was made to induce reverse voting from the Democratic Party supporters."
On the 16th, Jin posted on his Facebook, "(Hong's) precious words should have been said while the investigation was still ongoing. Then at least his sincerity could have been recognized," he said.
He added, "(Hong) seems to have made a big misjudgment," and said, "During the Cho Kuk incident, Hong's 'investigation philosophy' was like this. He was the one cheering 'Fighting' for Yoon Seok-yeol's good work."
He continued, "Looking at the conservative atmosphere, it seems some people only went for one debate. Anyway, Yoon Seok-yeol should have apologized for suspecting Hong's campaign. The candidate is responsible for the campaign's mistakes," he mentioned.
Earlier that day, at the first TV debate for the People Power Party presidential primary hosted by TV Chosun, Representative Ha Tae-kyung asked, "Candidate Hong seems to be having a thing with Professor Cho Kuk these days. They even share SNS posts. Was the Cho Kuk investigation wrong?" Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong also asked, "You said the investigation of Cho Kuk's family was a massacre, but Jung Kyung-shim was convicted with a prison sentence in the second trial. Do you really think it was a massacre?"
People Power Party presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo is preparing for a debate at the first broadcast debate for the 20th presidential election candidates held on the 16th at the TV Chosun studio in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
In response, Hong said, "I'm not saying the investigation was wrong, but that it was an excessive investigation. There is no investigation that massacres the entire family."
He criticized, "If Cho Kuk had told Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol that he would take full responsibility for his family, then the whole family wouldn't have needed to go to prison, right?"
As this remark caused controversy, Hong explained on his Facebook, "When I was a prosecutor, it was customary to arrest only the person representing the family in crimes involving family members, while the rest were either not detained or not indicted. That's why I said the investigation of Cho Kuk's family was excessive."
In another post, he emphasized, "I remember that Yoon Seok-yeol confessed to an acquaintance that the Cho Kuk investigation was conducted to stabilize the Moon Jae-in administration, and that this was even published in a book. It was a product of power struggles within the ruling party."
He added, "I have long thought that we should not get excited over such (Cho Kuk) cases," but also conceded, "However, if the public still thinks the investigation of Cho Kuk's entire family was not harsh, I have no choice but to change my view." Nevertheless, he added, "That case was a political investigation that is hard to accept under my investigation philosophy."
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