Kim Dong-yeon on Former President Moon's Summons: "It's Absurd... First Clarify Allegations of Favoritism Involving Shim Woo-jung's Children"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed his dismay, stating that the prosecution is acting as a lackey in relation to the release of President Yoon Seok-yeol, the immediate appeal by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the summons of former President Moon Jae-in. He also urged Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung to first clarify the allegations of preferential hiring of his children.

On the 29th, Governor Kim posted on his social media, criticizing, "The prosecution, which did not even file an appeal when releasing (Yoon Seok-yeol), the leader of the insurrection, is now saying it will summon former President Moon Jae-in. This is utterly absurd."

He continued, "To whom exactly does the prosecution owe loyalty?" and questioned, "Are they going to continue to be loyal to their boss (Yoon Seok-yeol), who is a senior prosecutor?"

In particular, he said, "Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung should first explain the allegations of preferential hiring of his children," adding, "The prosecution, which is not loyal to the country and its people, can only be answered by strong reforms at the level of dismantlement."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon’s post on his SNS on the 29th

Earlier, the Criminal Division 3 of Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Bae Sang-yoon) reportedly notified former President Moon Jae-in to appear as a suspect.

Currently, the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office is investigating allegations related to Moon’s former son-in-law Mr. Seo, including preferential hiring at Thai Starjet and support for his daughter Da-hye’s relocation to Thailand.

Thai Starjet is a low-cost airline in Thailand, known to be secretly owned by former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, the founder of Eastar Jet. At that time, Mr. Seo was employed as an executive director at Thai Starjet in July-August 2018, four months after Lee became chairman of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

The prosecution views the monthly salary of 8 million KRW Mr. Seo received until April 2020, along with relocation and housing expenses amounting to 223 million KRW, as bribes to former President Moon. The prosecution’s perspective is that after Mr. Seo’s employment, the financial support for Moon’s daughter Da-hye and her husband was discontinued, which ultimately resulted in economic benefits for the former president and his wife.

Meanwhile, the prosecution did not file an immediate appeal against the release of President Yoon Seok-yeol, allowing his release, but decided to appeal to the Supreme Court immediately after the second trial acquitted Lee Jae-myung, causing controversy.

Additionally, the opposition party announced on the 27th that they would request an audit from the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding allegations of preferential hiring of Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung’s children at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The opposition claimed, "It is inexplicable that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected candidates who had completed the final interview and re-announced the recruitment by changing the eligibility criteria tailored to Prosecutor General Shim’s children," adding, "Looking at precedents, this case is unique to Prosecutor General Shim’s children."