"Yoon Seok-yeol, Head of Yoon Seobangpa" to Jeong Cheong-rae... Kim Geun-sik: "The Democratic Party is Mun Seobangpa"

"Ruling Party Praised Yoon Seok-yeol as a Leader in Clearing Deep-rooted Evils"
"When the Blade Turns Toward the Living Power, They Try to Oust Him"

Kim Geun-sik, professor at Gyeongnam University and chairman of the Seoul Songpa-byeong district of the People Power Party (center) / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Professor Kim Geunsik of Gyeongnam National University, chairman of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district committee in Seoul, fired back at Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, who criticized Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol as the "boss of the Yoon Seobang faction," by calling the Democratic Party the "Moon Seobang faction."

Earlier, on the 27th, Rep. Jeong appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and said, "In my view, Prosecutor General Yoon is not on the ruling party's side nor the opposition's side, but on the prosecution's side. He is a prosecutionist," adding, "(Prosecutor General Yoon) gives me the feeling of being the 'boss of the Yoon Seobang faction'." This was interpreted as a criticism likening Prosecutor General Yoon to a gangster.

In response, Professor Kim targeted Rep. Jeong in a post on his Facebook page the same day, saying, "A senior Democratic Party lawmaker does not hesitate to mock by calling him the 'boss of the Yoon Seobang faction,'" and countered, "The Democratic Party is the 'Moon Seobang faction' and 'reckless gang'."

He continued, "When they praised him as the standard-bearer of clearing out deep-rooted evils, but when the blade turned toward the living power, they tried to drive him out as the head of the prosecution's vested interests," and criticized, "I have never seen the ruling party itself swarm like hornets to pressure the Prosecutor General, whom they had defended with an iron wall during the confirmation hearing and hailed as a righteous prosecutor, to be dismissed."

He added, "The reason is simple. They talk about prosecution reform, which has no substance, but the essence is to block prosecution investigations targeting the ruling power and to create a prosecution loyal to the power."

Meanwhile, some ruling party lawmakers on the same day urged Prosecutor General Yoon to voluntarily resign, mentioning terms like "boss of the Yoon Seobang faction" and "stubbornness." On that day, Rep. Kim Doo-kwan of the Democratic Party said on Facebook, "Prosecutor General Yoon should no longer be stubborn for the benefit of the prosecution group and should resign," adding, "Your political lifespan ends here."

Rep. Kim Nam-guk of the same party also indirectly raised the issue of his position in a radio interview, saying, "Previously, when the Prosecutor General had conflicts or differences of opinion with the Minister of Justice, he would stake his position and resign with conviction," and added, "If you want to do politics, you should do politics. Why are you sitting in the Prosecutor General's position and making political moves? It's cowardly."

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General / Photo by Yonhap News

The ruling party's increased pressure on Prosecutor General Yoon's position appears to be a countermeasure against his remarks during the National Assembly inspection of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

Earlier, on the 23rd, during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's inspection of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office that lasted until dawn, Prosecutor General Yoon was asked about his post-retirement plans and replied, "I will slowly think about how to serve our society and the people." When asked if politics was included in the ways of service, he avoided a direct answer, saying, "It is difficult to say now."

This led to criticism from the ruling party, suggesting that "in fact, Prosecutor General Yoon's goal is to enter politics." On the same day, Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon pointed out at the party's Supreme Council meeting that Prosecutor General Yoon's remarks during the inspection "ironically reveal how difficult prosecution reform is and how public officials should conduct themselves."

Rep. So Byung-chul of the same party lamented during the Ministry of Justice's comprehensive inspection by the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 26th, "The prosecution is shaking the political arena," and said, "Prosecutor General Yoon has emerged as a presidential candidate, which means the Prosecutor General is shaking the political arena."

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