Im Jong-seok "Attending Prosecutors' Office Today... Yoon Seok-yeol Lacks Fairness"

Im Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff to the President Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Sung-yeol] Former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok criticized the prosecution ahead of his appearance, saying, "There is neither minimal objectivity nor fairness in the attitude of the Prosecutor General who is fixated on this case."

Lim wrote on his Facebook on the 29th, "This case, which Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and some prosecutors have pushed aggressively, is closer to politics than an investigation."

Lim stated, "I will appear at the prosecution tomorrow (30th) morning as a suspect," adding, "Although I was advised to attend privately, I have decided to make the entire process of this case public."

He is suspected of requesting Lim Dong-ho, a former Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party who was competing in the primary against Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan, to withdraw from the primary ahead of the 2018 local elections.

Lim further criticized Yoon’s investigation, saying, "It is not about pursuing objective facts but rather a politically motivated plan that is being fabricated."

Regarding this case, Lim claimed, "Prosecutor General Yoon suddenly transferred the case, which the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office had kept under wraps for 1 year and 8 months, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office," and "then began to draw a completely unrelated picture targeting the Blue House."

He added, "They have shamelessly conducted raids on the Blue House, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the National Police Agency, and persistently summoned more than 20 Blue House staff members," and said, "We will watch together with the public to see what comes out."

He continued, "I will not prejudge whether this was intended to block legislation by the National Assembly or resistance to personnel matters," but stated, "However, Prosecutor General Yoon has lost the public’s trust in the prosecution rather than achieving that goal." He added, "How can he so easily turn his back on the public’s support and expectations?"

Finally, Lim urged, "I strongly call for deep reflection on whether this is going beyond an excessive investigation to wrongful political and election interference." Regarding reports that he refused to appear, he explained, "That is not true. I strongly regret this kind of media play."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.