With "Prosecutors' Search and Seizure May Render External Public Audit of Jeonguiyeon Meaningless"

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party criticized the prosecution's search of the Justice Memory Foundation on the 20th, saying it could hinder the verification of facts regarding the 'Yoon Mee-hyang allegations.' They also maintained the position that "fact verification comes first" concerning the suspicions surrounding Yoon Mee-hyang, the Democratic Party elected representative.

Kim Tae-nyeon, the Democratic Party floor leader, appeared on CBS Radio on the morning of the 21st and said, "Several responsible institutions are reviewing the Justice Memory Foundation's accounting. It is not too late to decide our stance after the results come out," adding, "Since the prosecution conducted a search yesterday, they took the ledgers that should have been audited by external agencies. We need to see if the external audit can be properly conducted."

Park Joo-min, a senior member of the Democratic Party, also appeared on KBS Radio the same day and said, "Investigation is the strongest action of the state, so those who study law are taught that it should always be used as a last resort," adding, "This is one of the fundamental principles, but as this is rapidly progressing, the government's own diagnosis or the meaning of external public audits might be lost."

The Democratic Party also maintained the position that fact verification regarding various allegations should come first. Floor leader Kim said, "Isn't Representative Yoon someone elected by the people? I think we need to be cautious in deciding our stance." He added, "The movement that has brought the comfort women issue into public discourse in our society for 30 years, built international solidarity, and elevated it to a universal human rights issue should not be disparaged."

In response, the United Future Party and the Justice Party are pressuring for party-level measures. Hwang Gyu-hwan, deputy spokesperson of the United Future Party, issued a statement the day before immediately after Kang Hoon-sik, the Democratic Party chief spokesperson, announced the position that "fact verification should come first," criticizing it as "just as expected, an attitude of 'just hold on'." The Justice Party also said, "Since the responsibility for verification lies with the party, there should be party-level measures as the suspicions continue to escalate."

However, the United Future Party is showing a more cautious stance regarding the previously resolved national audit on Representative Yoon. Lee Jun-seok, a senior member of the United Future Party, appeared on BBS Radio that day and said, "Since a national audit is a procedure conducted according to law, the scope and subjects must be specified," adding, "There is a mood that we need to be more thoughtful about specifying the scope."

Representative Yoon has not issued an official statement. The day before, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Yoon knelt and apologized to Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, who raised allegations against her, and that the grandmother was said to have shed tears, saying she felt "sorry" for Yoon. However, Yoon herself has not released any related statements. Meanwhile, Hankyoreh newspaper dismissed this, saying, "I couldn't understand what kind of forgiveness she was asking for while kneeling," and "Reporters say she was forgiven, but there was nothing like that."

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