Cho Ungcheon: "Minister Choo's Words and Actions Are Bewildering" vs Hwang Unha: "Prosecutor General Yoon's Misconduct Comes First"

Cho Ungcheon: "Minister Choo Needs a Humble Attitude"
Hwang Unha: "The Essence Must Not Be Diluted..."

Cho Ungcheon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy, Reporter Han Seunggon, Intern Reporter Kim Seulgi] As the conflict between Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl continues to intensify, it has emerged that opinions are divided within the Democratic Party of Korea. On June 28, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Ungcheon criticized, "Minister Choo needs to take a more humble attitude, especially for the sake of prosecutorial reform and the launch of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO)." In contrast, lawmaker Unha Hwang defended Minister Choo, stating, "The essence of the issue must not be diluted."

On this day, Cho posted on his Facebook, "Minister Choo's recent series of words and actions toward Prosecutor General Yoon is a scene so unfamiliar that, despite spending nearly 30 years in the legal field, I am left speechless and bewildered."

He went on to criticize Minister Choo's actions, saying, "Before Minister Choo took office, 66 previous Ministers of Justice refrained from exercising their authority and recommended prosecutor appointments after listening to the Prosecutor General's opinion. Former ministers also refrained from certain words and actions out of consideration for the law and the political neutrality of the prosecution."

Cho expressed concern, "The more Minister Choo emphasizes the necessity of prosecutorial reform and the prompt launch of the CIO through harsh language, the more the debate may focus on the appropriateness of her words and actions."

Democratic Party lawmaker Unha Hwang. Photo by Yonhap News

On the other hand, on the same day, lawmaker Hwang posted on his Facebook, "If you become fixated on trivial perspectives without understanding the whole context, you will fail to grasp the essence of things or phenomena."

He explained, "There is a Buddhist idiom, 'Gyeonwolmangji,' which means 'If you see the moon, forget the finger pointing at it.' In other words, once you have grasped the essence, you should discard the means."

He continued, "If the Prosecutor General recklessly exercises prosecutorial power to delay prosecutorial reform or to maximize the interests of the prosecution, resulting in unnecessary national confusion, social conflict, and serious violations of citizens' rights, then who should be responsible for democratic oversight of the Prosecutor General?"

Hwang emphasized, "The prosecution is an external agency under the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Justice bears a heavy responsibility to complete prosecutorial reform. Entrusted with personnel and disciplinary authority by the elected government, the Minister must ensure the legality and appropriateness of the exercise of prosecutorial power. If we do not criticize the Prosecutor General's attitude of opposing the Minister, who is the supervisor of the prosecution, at every turn, then doesn't that make the Minister a mere figurehead?"

He added, "If you want to take issue with the manner of expression, shouldn't you first point out the Prosecutor General's misconduct? If someone points at the moon, you should look at the moon. The tail should not wag the dog."

Minister of Justice Choo Mi Ae (left) Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol (right). Photo by Yonhap News

Previously, on June 25, Minister Choo stated during a lecture at the Innovation Forum for first-term lawmakers, hosted by the Democratic Party's think tank, the Democratic Research Institute, regarding the 'Han Myeong-sook former Prime Minister case,' "I instructed the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Inspection Department to handle this case, but Prosecutor General Yoon sent it down to the Human Rights Supervisor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and then the head of the Human Rights Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office took overall charge, effectively cutting my instructions in half."

Minister Choo further pointed out, "(If Prosecutor General Yoon) had listened to the Minister, this matter could have been resolved smoothly, but he unnecessarily intervened and complicated things. I have never seen a Minister of Justice having to work with a Prosecutor General who refuses to listen."

In response to criticism from some quarters that Minister Choo's words and actions were inappropriate, she expressed her discomfort on her Facebook page on June 27, stating, "The real issue is 'collusion between prosecutors and the media.' If you are targeting the dignity of the Minister's language, you are missing the point."

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