Woo Sang-ho "Yoon Government Investigates Blacklist and Pressures Agency Heads to Resign... Does This Make Sense?"

It Seems the Yoon Administration Aims to Seize State Leadership Through Investigations
Active Evaluations of Presidential and Local Elections at All Levels Are Needed

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Oh Ju-yeon] Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, viewed the media reports on Park Sang-hyuk, a Democratic Party lawmaker who previously served as an administrative officer in the Blue House Personnel Office, being under investigation related to the Ministry of Industry blacklist case, as an attempt by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration to seize control of state affairs through the investigation. Woo also revealed that pressure for resignation was exerted on Jeon Hyun-hee, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, condemning that while one side is investigating the blacklist case, the other side is creating blacklists.

At a press briefing held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 15th, Woo referred to the investigation of former Minister of Industry Baek Woon-kyu and lawmaker Park, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration has always had concerns about how to manage the positions of fixed-term public officials," and added, "There are already fixed-term public officials who have been pressured." He pointed out, "It is predicted that the investigation will not stop at what Park did as an administrative officer in the Blue House Personnel Office but will spread to higher-ups. How far up will it go? Is there any guarantee that it will not reach President Moon Jae-in regarding personnel matters?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Woo said, "It seems the government has decided to seize control of state affairs through investigations, but they should not do so," and criticized, "They should focus on taking care of people's livelihoods and policies to overcome the upcoming economic crisis rather than making governance patterns about retaliation. This will only lead to repeated futile conflicts."

He added, "Seeing the investigative authorities leak to the media despite knowing that Park went on a business trip to Mongolia, making it appear as if Park is a serious suspect, is a traditional prosecution investigation pattern. There is no reason for me not to call it a retaliatory investigation," and questioned, "If Park were just a simple witness, why would they leak to the media and create articles about investigating him and higher-ups? Isn't this repeating a bad pattern from the past?"

Woo also said, "The fact that Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, was contacted not to attend the Cabinet meeting means they want him to step down," and asked, "Isn't notifying him not to attend key government meetings a form of pressure?" He continued, "I heard that Chairperson Jeon was also contacted to step down. Will they investigate her as well? There have been requests or inquiries for major agency heads to step down. What are they doing now?" He raised his voice, saying, "On one hand, they are investigating, and on the other hand, they are doing the same acts. Does this make any sense?"

When asked about the side demanding Chairperson Jeon's resignation, Woo responded, "If a countermeasure organization is formed, it will investigate and proceed. Please give us time," and added, "The formation of the countermeasure organization today means they do not intend to respond only once, and there is a judgment that related matters will not end with a single case."

Regarding the evaluation work on the presidential and local election defeats, Woo said, "It is good that the first-term and second-term members' meetings are being held today, and The Future is conducting evaluations and discussions at various levels." He also mentioned the upcoming workshop scheduled for next week, saying, "To create a venue for everyone to vent, this workshop is not for policy discussions but to openly discuss current party issues and have lawmakers debate among themselves. We decided to organize it to create an opportunity for frank dialogue. Wouldn't the party be reborn through this?"