Choi Kang-wook: "Cannot Overlook Prosecutor General's Abuse of Authority... Minister of Justice Must Exercise Command Authority"

Choi Kang-wook, the representative of the National Assembly Education and Culture Forum, attended the launch event of the National Assembly Education and Culture Forum held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, as well as the seminar on the achievements and future tasks of promoting the complexification of 생활SOC schools, and delivered a greeting./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, urged Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae to exercise her command authority, stating, "We cannot overlook Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's repeated abuse of power."

At a press conference held at the National Assembly on the 1st, Choi emphasized, "The Open Democratic Party can no longer tolerate the Prosecutor General's continuous abuse of authority and obstruction of investigations. Given the gravity and illegality of the matter, a thorough investigation is necessary."

He stated, "A sitting chief prosecutor is under serious suspicion of colluding with Channel A reporters to pressure a prison inmate in order to obtain criminal information about a specific individual's corruption," and added, "The media pressured and coerced sources to get stories, and the prosecution violated human rights to acquire criminal information."

It was pointed out that the involvement of the sitting chief prosecutor was revealed through recorded conversations and transcripts. Choi said, "When this case first came to light, Channel A reporters tried to conceal the involvement of a high-ranking prosecution official. However, based on the conversations and reports at the time, it is clear that Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was actively involved, yet there was an attempt to hide the truth."

He continued, "Currently, the Prosecutor General appears to be obstructing investigations into his closest aides, and Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon seems to be relying on the Prosecutor General and not cooperating with the investigation."

Choi stated, "According to the official letter from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office dated June 4, 2020, disclosed today by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, 'The Prosecutor General does not receive any instructions or reports regarding this case, and all decisions are made by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutors' Meeting.' The Central District Prosecutors' Office revealed that despite faithfully following procedures for the Chief Prosecutors' Meeting discussions, they only learned through the media that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office suddenly decided to convene an advisory group and had already selected its members."

He added, "Initially, the Prosecutor General's decision to entrust the case's command to the Chief Prosecutors' Meeting was a promise to maintain at least minimal fairness. Nevertheless, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has ignored the discussions of the Chief Prosecutors' Meeting and taken successive unreasonable measures, ultimately resulting in abuse of power and obstruction of investigations."

Choi urged, "The Minister of Justice should devise a plan to ensure an independent investigation into this case and appropriately exercise her command authority to prevent any infringement on the fairness of the investigation." Regarding Prosecutor General Yoon, he said, "We urge him to stop the currently revealed illegal and unjust obstruction of investigations, to cease arrogant actions that damage the prosecution organization, and to stop going against the will of the people."

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