Yoon "Didn't you do it during the Democratic Party government?" Sparks unified opposition from opposition parties... "The reality of political retaliation"
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The conflict between the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and the Moon Jae-in administration is reigniting. This follows investigations into the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy blacklist and Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-myung, as well as the new government's judgment on the 'West Sea Public Official Killing Incident.' The opposition party's backlash, calling it a "political revenge investigation," escalated when President Yoon retorted, "Didn't the Democratic Party government do the same?" intensifying the controversy.
On the 17th, President Yoon, speaking to reporters on his way to the Yongsan Presidential Office, responded to a question about allegations of political revenge regarding investigations into the former Moon Jae-in administration and Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-myung by saying, "Didn't the Democratic Party government do it?" His position was that criminal investigations after a regime change focus on past events, not future ones, but his remarks strongly rebutting opposition criticism further provoked the opposition.
Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party, stated, "President Yoon said he does not 'pledge loyalty to individuals,'" and claimed, "Investigations into the Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak administrations were not conducted under Moon Jae-in's orders but were planned by himself." Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also said, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government is mobilizing the prosecution to create a political and security crackdown atmosphere and engage in political revenge," calling the "excessive investigations and petty oppression the real nature of Yoon Seok-yeol-style political revenge."
Recently, the prosecution has accelerated investigations into former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu over the Moon administration's Ministry blacklist allegations. Investigations into Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-myung regarding the Daejang-dong case have also intensified.
Regarding the 'West Sea Public Official Killing Incident,' further conflicts are expected to increase. When asked by reporters if there would be additional measures to secure sealed materials classified as presidential records related to this incident, President Yoon said, "It is not a matter I am directly involved in," but added, "The parties involved will likely take legal action to verify the truth further. It will proceed accordingly. Please wait and see."
Moreover, materials sealed as presidential records by the National Security Office can only be accessed with the approval of two-thirds of the National Assembly members or a warrant from the Seoul High Court Chief Judge. In response, the People Power Party urged the Democratic Party to cooperate by disclosing some of the investigation records designated as presidential records to uncover the truth.
However, the Democratic Party strongly opposed this, arguing that the Moon administration never concluded a "defection attempt to North Korea," and accused the Yoon Seok-yeol government of cleverly distorting the facts. They withheld their position on consenting to the viewing of presidential records, stating, "Nothing has been finalized." Yoon Geon-young, a Democratic Party lawmaker who served as the head of the State Affairs Situation Room under the Moon administration, also said, "Without presenting clear evidence, they are making ambiguous conclusions and cleverly misleading the facts."
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