Joo Ho-young: "Moon, Dismiss Choo... Yoon Needs to Declare 'I Will Not Engage in Politics'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, raised his voice demanding that President Moon Jae-in dismiss Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and guarantee the term of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. Prosecutor General Yoon also emphasized that he should declare, "I will faithfully perform only the duties of the Prosecutor General with political neutrality."

On the 2nd, Floor Leader Joo appeared on KBS Radio's "Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs" and said, "The President should dismiss Minister Choo even now and reaffirm the words he said when appointing Prosecutor General Yoon." He stressed that President Moon should once again say the words he said at the time of Yoon's appointment: "Investigate the living power equally."

Floor Leader Joo said, "In a book President Moon wrote about prosecutorial reform, the most important thing regarding prosecutorial independence is 'guaranteeing the term of the Prosecutor General,'" adding, "Guaranteeing the term is important, and it is enough to confirm that investigations should be conducted on the living power."

He said, "(President Moon) should dismiss Minister Choo, guarantee Prosecutor General Yoon's term, and tell him to act according to his convictions," adding, "However, since Prosecutor General Yoon is misunderstood as 'being able to engage in politics,' Yoon should say, 'I have no intention of engaging in politics at all and will faithfully perform only the duties of the Prosecutor General with political neutrality.' This will ensure the rule of law in the Republic of Korea and guarantee the neutrality and independence of the prosecution."

Floor Leader Joo pointed out, "In public opinion polls targeting the people, the view that Minister Choo is at fault is more than twice that of Prosecutor General Yoon being at fault," adding, "All ranks from ordinary prosecutors, chief prosecutors, deputy chief prosecutors, to prosecutors general say Minister Choo is wrong. This is not a 'prosecutorial crisis' but a 'prosecutorial uprising.'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the possibility of joint resignation, he criticized, "Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun talks about joint resignation, and praising and awarding the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which destroyed 444 official documents related to the early shutdown of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, is an absurd story," adding, "If we hold the majority of seats, we could even consider impeaching the Prime Minister."

Floor Leader Joo again emphasized that Prosecutor General Yoon should declare political neutrality. He said, "When Prosecutor General Yoon said during the National Assembly audit, 'I will think about what I can do to serve the people after retirement,' I do not think that means he intends to engage in politics," adding, "To avoid misunderstandings, it would be best if Yoon declared that he will not engage in politics."

Regarding Prosecutor General Yoon leading in opposition presidential candidate polls, he said, "It is wrong to keep including the current Prosecutor General, who should be independent and neutral, among presidential candidates," adding, "I think support is shifting because people see him as someone who can stop the mistakes made by President Moon or the Democratic Party government."

He continued, "Voices that dislike the regime and say it is wrong are all gathering, and later during the election, they will all gather around our party or the opposition presidential candidate," adding, "When candidates are finalized during the presidential election process, they will all unite as opposition candidates, so I have no doubt about that."

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