Joo Ho-young: "The ruling party wants to appoint Choo's close aide as the Corruption Investigation Office chief to bury the Wolseong and Optimus suspicions"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized, saying, "The Democratic Party of Korea intends to appoint a close aide of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae as the head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) to shelve cases such as the Wolseong Unit 1 incident and power corruption cases like Lime and Optimus in the HOCI chief's cabinet."

At the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 4th, Floor Leader Joo said, "Today, at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's bill subcommittee, the Democratic Party is unilaterally setting deadlines and changing the order of hearings to forcibly pass the HOCI Act and other laws they are pushing through."

He pointed out, "If they attempt reckless amendments using numbers and power to appoint their preferred person as the HOCI chief without properly implementing the HOCI Act, they will be ridiculed by the public. If they fail to learn from the cause of their plummeting approval ratings, the saying 'what falls has no wings' will come to mind."

Floor Leader Joo said, "The Democratic Party intends to appoint a close aide of Minister Choo as the HOCI chief to shelve all power corruption cases such as the Ulsan election interference case, the Wolseong Unit 1 economic feasibility manipulation case, and the Lime and Optimus cases in the HOCI chief's cabinet," adding, "There is speculation that the Democratic Party might use reckless cards to recover approval ratings or turn the tide due to Minister Choo's tyranny, but I earnestly ask them to stop now and follow the law for the smooth launch of the HOCI."

Regarding the disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, Floor Leader Joo also commented on President Moon's emphasis on 'procedural legitimacy and fairness,' saying, "(Procedural legitimacy and fairness) have already been broken, as revealed by the decision of the Inspection Committee, the attitude of prosecutors nationwide, and the court's injunction," adding, "Immediately withdrawing the disciplinary action aligns with procedural legitimacy and fairness."

Regarding Mr. Lee, a close aide of Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, who took an extreme step the previous day, Floor Leader Joo said, "I pray for the deceased's repose and offer condolences to Leader Lee, who must be very distressed," adding, "The circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident during the investigation related to the Optimus fund need further investigation, but I hope the situation is well managed."

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