[Comprehensive] "A Decision Must Be Made... Defying the Constitution" Ruling Party Continues to Shake Yoon Seok-yeol

Seol Hoon, Hwang Unha, Choi Kangwook, Hwang Heeseok Criticize Yoon Seok-yeol Daily
"A Decision Must Be Made..." De Facto Call for Prosecutor General Yoon's Resignation
Harsh Criticism of Nationwide Prosecutors' Meeting as 'Loyalist' Gathering

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Calls from ruling party figures for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to resign are intensifying day by day. On the 3rd, Seol Hoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged Yoon to make a decision, and Hwang Un-ha, also a Democratic Party member, criticized Yoon as a prosecution supremacist. Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, belittled the nationwide prosecutors' chiefs meeting convened by Yoon on the same day as a 'gathering of henchmen.' Additionally, Hwang Hee-seok, a Supreme Council member of the same party, accused Yoon of defying the law.

On the same day, Seol appeared on YTN Radio's "Noh Young-hee's Start of a New Morning" and said, "If (Prosecutor General Yoon) continues to resist like this, it will be of no help to the prosecution or even to himself or me," adding, "I believe he must make a decision."

When the host asked, "At the time when former Minister Cho Kuk was nominated, did Prosecutor General Yoon approach the investigation with the thought that 'Cho Kuk is not acceptable'?" Seol emphasized, "Isn't that common sense? Looking at the results that followed, it is a part that can be sufficiently inferred."

Seol pointed out, "(The ruling party) wants to reform the prosecution through the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), but the prosecution, including Prosecutor General Yoon, opposes it because if the CIO is established, the power held by the prosecution will be completely diminished," adding, "The CIO Act has passed, and the CIO is about to be established, so under these circumstances, Prosecutor General Yoon should also be dealt with."

Hwang Un-ha, a Democratic Party member and former police officer who was indicted over allegations of Blue House-ordered investigations, emphasized the need for prosecution reform on his Facebook on the 2nd, saying, "Among advanced countries, there is no country as noisy all year round because of the prosecution as ours," and "If you look closely, the root of all problems is the prosecution's direct investigative authority." He continued, "The prosecution reform, which was the first task of the Candlelight Revolution, still has a long way to go, and if things continue like this, there is a high risk of failure, which is worrisome."

In particular, Hwang argued, "When the prosecution's investigative authority is institutionally guaranteed excessively, including the right to prosecute, and an extremely irrational prosecution supremacist like Prosecutor General Yoon appears, a phenomenon arises where worship of the prosecution is regarded as the highest value, causing regression in democracy."

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is responding to questions from lawmakers at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the afternoon of the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News

Furthermore, Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, claimed that the nationwide prosecutors' chiefs meeting convened by the Prosecutor General on the same day regarding the 'Channel A and prosecution collusion' suspicion case might be "a gathering of some henchmen to denounce Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae."

In a post on his Facebook that day, Choi said, "Is it reasonable to say that they will 'discuss whether to accept the minister's instructions or not'?" He added, "They might gather some henchmen to denounce the minister, then define the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as having defied Prosecutor General Yoon, and demand that a special prosecutor be appointed from among Yoon's close aides or loyalists to hand over the case."

He further said, "This is an abuse of the authority to appoint a special prosecutor, which belongs to the (prosecution) chief."

Choi also referred to a media report quoting a prosecution official saying, "Not holding an advisory group does not mean accepting the investigation command. We will listen broadly to the opinions of the prosecutors' chiefs and decide," and commented, "This is again outrageous." He added, "It won't be easy to correct bad habits, but Minister Choo will prepare well."

Hwang Hee-seok, a Supreme Council member of the same party, also wrote on Facebook, "If you want to do it, go ahead," and emphasized, "We can no longer tolerate the idea that the prosecution decides whether to accept or reject the instructions of the Ministry of Justice, the superior supervisory authority."

Hwang stressed, "Refusing to obey the instructions of the Minister of Justice is, no matter how well packaged, a rebellion against the people who created the current government and a defiance of the Constitution and laws."

He said, "Political prosecutors always shout for independence," but "in reality, they want to create an inviolable sanctuary free from any interference or control." He added, "Having just passed the bar exam and become public officials, they want to be 'the law itself.'"

Hwang said, "Their sense of superiority has gone to the extreme," and asked, "Where else in this world is there such an absurdly outdated, backward, and even more backward group with excessive authority, a huge organization, and a massive budget like you?" He also asked, "Do you prosecutor generals still think this country is not a democratic republic but a prosecution republic?"

On the previous day (the 2nd), Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae exercised her authority to command investigations and ordered Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to suspend the professional investigation advisory group's review procedure regarding the 'Channel A reporter coercion attempt suspicion' case.

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