Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, former Prosecutor General (from left). / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who lost the first trial in the '2-month suspension disciplinary appeal lawsuit,' saying, "He should apologize to the people, resign from the candidacy, and declare a halt to political activities."
On the 15th, Lee posted on his social media (SNS), "It has been confirmed that former Prosecutor General Yoon abused prosecutorial power and violated his official duties. The Prosecutor General, who should uphold the law the best, abused his authority. It has been confirmed that he misused the powerful authority entrusted by the people not for the rule of law but for personal gain," he said.
He continued, "(Former Prosecutor General Yoon) was the sitting Prosecutor General while creating an image of resistance against the Moon Jae-in administration through meticulous victim cosplay. Eventually, he accumulated this as a justification for running in the presidential election and transformed into an opposition party candidate after resigning as Prosecutor General," adding, "This is no different from a pro-Japanese collaborator disguising their identity and pretending to be an independence fighter. This has revealed to the whole world that the fundamental reason for Yoon Seok-youl's political start is a fabrication."
Lee urged former Prosecutor General Yoon to stop political activities. He said, "A public official dismissed by disciplinary action cannot become the president, the highest official among public servants. This does not even conform to common sense," and added, "Candidate Yoon should immediately apologize to the people, resign from the candidacy, and rightfully declare a halt to political activities. That is the only way to somewhat preserve the honor of the prosecution and uphold the dignity of public officials in the Republic of Korea."
Lee also enumerated allegations including Yoon's illegal surveillance of judges, interference in trials, suspension of inspections as stated in the ruling, as well as investigations related to his family and suspicions of instigating accusations, saying, "At this point, Yoon Seok-youl's prosecution itself is a group that disrupts national order and destroys the constitution," and raised his voice for "stronger and uninterrupted prosecutorial reform."
Meanwhile, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 12 (Chief Judge Jung Yong-seok) ruled on the 14th to uphold the two-month suspension disciplinary action against former Prosecutor General Yoon, who filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Justice to cancel the disciplinary action. At that time, the disciplinary committee recognized four of the six charges applied to former Prosecutor General Yoon: △ drafting and distributing documents related to the surveillance of major case trial teams △ obstructing inspection related to the Channel A (A) case △ obstructing investigation related to the Channel A (A) case △ damaging political neutrality, concluding that he violated the prosecution's duty of political neutrality.
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