Park Ju-min: "Choo's Investigation Command Activation Is Not Pressure for Yoon Seok-yeol to Resign"

Park Jumin, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] On the 20th, Park Ju-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated regarding Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's exercise of investigative authority over Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, "The Ministry of Justice conducted an internal audit last week, and it seems that some content has emerged from the inspection."

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day, Park said, "After checking with the Ministry of Justice, I heard that there were things that seemed to support (Kim Bong-hyun's) statement."

Regarding the suggestion that the exercise of investigative authority was based on the revelations of Kim Bong-hyun, the former chairman of Star Mobility and a key figure in the Lime scandal, Park dismissed the claim, saying, "It doesn't seem that the investigative authority was exercised solely based on Kim Bong-hyun's handwritten statement."

On the issue of the head of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, who was alleged to have received hospitality from former Chairman Kim, reporting a meeting to Prosecutor General Yoon, Park said, "This was not a report following the usual procedure," adding, "Normally, when reporting a meeting, related department chiefs attend and written materials are left, but this was handled differently."

Regarding the reason why Prosecutor General Yoon should be excluded from the investigation into the 'Lime scandal,' Park said, "While investigations into ruling party figures have been conducted vigorously, investigations into opposition party figures have not been properly carried out," and added, "There are suspicions that the investigation command line at the time either did not know properly or, even knowing, did not direct the investigation properly."

On the question of whether the exercise of investigative authority was related to pressuring Prosecutor General Yoon to resign, Park interpreted, "The Minister of Justice's exercise of investigative authority is merely an acknowledgment of the current situation and a reassertion of principles," and said, "It is somewhat difficult to see it as 'Prosecutor General Yoon should step down.'"

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