To the Prosecutor General Who Gave Up on Appeal:
"Immediate Resignation Is Necessary"
To the Constitutional Court:
"Swift Dismissal of Yoon Is Urgent"
On the 9th, the leaders of five opposition parties?the Democratic Party of Korea, the Party for Justice and Innovation, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party, and the Social Democratic Party?expressed suspicion that the prosecution's release of President Yoon Seok-yeol was a planned act with a certain intent. They urged the Constitutional Court to promptly issue an impeachment ruling to reduce the potential social chaos that could arise from President Yoon's release.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the "Roundtable Meeting for Joint Emergency Response by the Five Opposition Party Leaders" held at the National Assembly that day, "It is still unbelievable that the ringleader of the rebellion avoided detention through a strange legal interpretation," and criticized, "Which citizen can easily accept that a ringleader of a rebellion, who should receive the death penalty or life imprisonment, is released due to some procedural issue, especially a matter of arithmetic?"
Lee added, "It is unbelievable that the prosecution struggled so hard to indict without detention, yet failed to perform even the most basic arithmetic properly, and it is incomprehensible that they gave up on appealing when they should have naturally done so. I suspect this was a planned act with a certain intent," raising his voice, "Ultimately, I think the prosecution has implicitly shown that it is one of the main accomplices in this rebellion incident." He also pledged, "Although many anxieties are overwhelming, our five opposition parties here will do their best to overcome this difficulty together with our party leadership, party members, and the public."
Kim Seon-min, acting leader of the Party for Justice and Innovation, also strongly criticized President Yoon's release as a stratagem of the prosecution and a manifestation of prosecutorial dictatorship. He said, "The prosecution released the ringleader of the rebellion, Yoon Seok-yeol. This chilling, absurd horror show was directed by Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung," and questioned, "How could the prosecution, which left no stone unturned in investigations of former leaders Cho Kuk and Lee Jae-myung, miscalculate the detention days? Why did Prosecutor General Shim convene a meeting of prosecutors on January 26, the very day when urgent detention indictment was required, wasting a whole day?"
Kim emphasized that the necessity of prosecutorial reform has been imprinted on the public due to President Yoon's release, stating, "The prosecution is an organization beyond repair, a group of legal technicians tightly bound by desire and selfishness," and called for separating investigative and prosecutorial powers to reform the prosecution to the level of dismantlement. He also urged other opposition party leaders, "It is time to put aside minor differences and focus on the dismissal of Yoon Seok-yeol and the withdrawal of the prosecutorial dictatorship regime. We will prepare good measures to reassure and empower the people." He further called for the Constitutional Court's swift dismissal ruling on President Yoon and urged citizens to attend pro-impeachment rallies.
Kim Jae-yeon, leader of the Progressive Party, said, "The horrific ringleader of the rebellion, President Yoon, who aimed his gun directly at the hearts of the National Assembly and the people, walked out of prison. This is something that should never have happened," and defined, "Prosecutor General Shim's decision to release President Yoon from prison is an act of aiming a gun at the people's hearts once again." She continued, "He is an accomplice in the rebellion. If we cannot forgive him, we must hold him accountable to the end, including impeachment."
Yong Hye-in, leader of the Basic Income Party, said, "(The people) are trembling with anxiety that democracy will collapse again and that the rebellion forces will not be purged. Foreign media have also expressed deep concern, stating that 'national division is intensifying and political uncertainty is increasing,'" and pointed out, "At times like this, politics must calm the people's anxieties and uphold the fundamental principles of democracy."
Regarding the phone call between President Yoon and Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, the previous day, and some members of the People Power Party urging dismissal or rejection of President Yoon's impeachment trial, she criticized, "These are shameless claims," and said, "We cannot help but condemn the anti-democratic and irresponsible behavior of the People Power Party, which is colluding with the ringleader of the rebellion and exacerbating social chaos."
Yong also said, "It has been 12 days since the conclusion of the impeachment trial arguments for President Yoon. The impeachment trial for former President Park Geun-hye was decided 11 days after the conclusion of arguments, and for former President Roh Moo-hyun, 14 days after. The ruling on President Yoon's impeachment trial should not be delayed any further," and urged a swift decision, saying, "At the very least, the results should be delivered to the public before the end of this week." She demanded Prosecutor General Shim's voluntary resignation, stating, "The prosecution chose release instead of immediate appeal 26 hours after the decision to cancel detention. There was no will to maintain the detention status of the ringleader of the rebellion."
Han Chang-min, leader of the Social Democratic Party, said, "The reality of the prosecutorial republic that gave birth to President Yoon has been revealed. Ordinary citizens cannot easily escape the dense legal net, but Yoon Seok-yeol, a former prosecutor general, easily evaded it," and argued, "It has been revealed that not everyone is equal before the law, nor are only ten thousand people equal, but only former prosecutors receive special treatment before the law."
Regarding the prosecution, he said, "January 8 will be recorded as the day the prosecution of the Republic of Korea was abandoned by the majority of the people. It will be remembered as the day the power institution, soon to disappear as a prosecution agency, made its last desperate effort," and insisted, "Prosecutor General Shim, who gave up on immediate appeal and reduced the prosecution of the Republic of Korea to the guardian of the ringleader of the rebellion, should be reported to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials."
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