Yoo Si-min Mentioned 'The Glory' in Lee In-gyu's Memoir: "No Value... Similar to Park Yeon-jin"

Netflix's 'The Glory' Mentioned with Strong Criticism
"Called it a Prosecutor Kingdom... Not Worth Criticizing"
"Consistently Denies Responsibility for Former President Roh's Death"

As criticism from opposition figures continues over the memoir of Lee In-gyu, former head of the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the person responsible for the investigation of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation director Yoo Si-min added his voice by mentioning 'The Glory.'

On the day, former director Yoo appeared on the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation's YouTube broadcast 'Alileo Books' and said about Lee’s memoir, I Was a Prosecutor of the Republic of Korea ? Who Killed Roh Moo-hyun?, “It is not a book valuable enough to warrant criticism.”

He said, “Although it is in the form of a memoir, the content is a political pamphlet,” adding, “Out of 529 pages, except for 70 pages, the entire book is filled with direct and indirect stories about former President Roh.”

Yoo Si-min, former chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation.

Former director Yoo said, “Most of the book’s content is not even worth disputing whether it is true or not,” but added, “If a criminal complaint is filed, the case would have to be handed over to the Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon prosecution, so there will be no complaint.”

He also said, “The title I Was a Prosecutor of the Republic of Korea is attached formally, and the subtitle is the real title,” explaining, “If you interpret the subtitle Who Killed Roh Moo-hyun? in reverse, it means I Did Not Kill Roh Moo-hyun. That is the subtitle.”

He continued, “He consistently claims that he is not responsible for the death of former President Roh,” and explained, “When asked, ‘Who killed Roh Moo-hyun?’ the answer is ‘progressive media including Hankyoreh and Kyunghyang Shinmun and lawyer Moon Jae-in killed him.’”

Former director Yoo compared Lee In-gyu to Park Yeon-jin from the popular Netflix drama The Glory, saying, “It is similar to Park Yeon-jin saying, ‘He deserved to be beaten. I didn’t kill him. It was his friends who turned their backs on him and the mother who should have helped him but pretended not to know that caused his death.’”

He added, “(Lee In-gyu) identifies himself as a person with power. But that was destroyed by the death of former President Roh. It was taken away,” and said, “I think he has the will to regain the unjustly taken ‘glory.’”

He said, “How frustrated and resentful must he be? Think of Park Yeon-jin, who was abandoned by Ha Do-young. How unfair it must be,” repeatedly referring to The Glory.

"He wrote the book because of the 'Prosecutor Kingdom'... It’s not a serious matter"

A memoir titled 'I Was a Prosecutor of the Republic of Korea' written by former head of the Central Investigation Department, Lee In-gyu, displayed on a bookstore stand. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the timing of the publication by the former head, he answered, “Now it has become a prosecutor kingdom, hasn’t it? It is heading toward the completion of the prosecutor kingdom. Wouldn’t he think now is the time to say, ‘I too am part of the proud trend, joining the flow of history’?”

He added, “Lee In-gyu wielded power, and former President Roh ended his life in that way to protect his own ‘glory.’ Former President Roh followed his own path, and Lee In-gyu lived his own life.”

Meanwhile, the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation previously issued a statement under the name of its publicity team leader regarding the memoir. The statement corrected facts about three points mentioned in the book: the watch, the suspicion of receiving $1.4 million from Park Yeon-cha, and the special activity expenses of the Chief Secretary.

Regarding this, former director Yoo said, “Chairman Jeong Se-gyun, Lee Hae-chan, Han Myeong-sook, and former chairman Lee Byung-hwan gathered to discuss what to do,” and added, “This issue itself is not a serious matter, nor is it something new. So it was judged that a practical response would be sufficient.”

On the other hand, Lee In-gyu, former head of the Central Investigation Department, responded to criticism from opposition figures about the memoir on the same day, saying, “I apologize to those who love former President Roh, but I just wrote it as it is,” and “If there is anything different from the facts, please let me know. I have no intention of going into politics.”