Ahn Cheol-soo: "The President's Personal Desires Destroy Democracy"

Former lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, who is preparing to establish a new party, is answering reporters' questions after announcing parliamentary reform measures at the National Assembly Press Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 4th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Former lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, who is pushing for the establishment of the 'Ahn Cheol-soo New Party' (tentative name), criticized President Moon Jae-in on the 6th, saying, "The president's personal desires are destroying democracy."

On the same day, Ahn posted on his Twitter, stating, "Because of the immature desire of a superior who wishes for 'the election of close aides,' the Blue House subordinates involved in the Ulsan mayoral election fraud have been consecutively indicted by the prosecution."

He added, "Democracy is really having a hard time," and said, "In short, it's absurd."

On the previous day (the 5th), Ahn also posted a critical message regarding Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's decision not to submit the indictment related to the Blue House's ordered investigation and election interference case to the National Assembly.

He said, "Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice refused to disclose the indictment concerning the Blue House's election interference allegations," adding, "If you are confident, hiding it is against the common sense of our society."

He further argued, "Refusing the disclosure of the indictment, which is common sense, is no different from confessing that the election interference allegations are true."

Minister of Justice Mi-ae is answering reporters' questions while arriving at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 5th. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 4th, the Ministry of Justice refused the National Assembly's demand to submit the indictment of 13 defendants, including Song Cheol-ho (71), the mayor of Ulsan, who was brought to trial over allegations of Blue House election interference.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "There is a concern that the right of criminal defendants to a fair trial and the human rights, such as privacy and honor, of those involved in the case may be infringed."

Regarding this, Minister Choo said on the 5th, "There has been a wrongful practice where requests for data submission from lawmakers' offices were immediately followed by the full indictment being disclosed to the media," adding, "After several deliberations, we agreed that such wrongful practices should no longer be repeated."

She continued, "As of December 1 last year, regulations prohibiting the disclosure of criminal cases were also established. It is impossible for the Ministry of Justice to create such rules and not follow them," emphasizing, "Once the trial procedure begins, the detailed contents of the indictment will be known in the open trial. Separately, there will no longer be cases where information is disclosed to the National Assembly through materials submitted by the Ministry of Justice."

She added, "I believe the public will understand the Ministry of Justice's measures well, as the facts will be revealed through the right to a fair trial, not distorted through the media, which could lead to harm to the people."

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