Controversy Over the 'Yoon Seok-yeol Candidacy Ban Law': Choi Kang-wook Responds "As Expected, It's Always About Yoon"

"Cut Off Prosecutorial Politics and Restore Judicial Trust"
"Should Use This Opportunity to Enhance Fairness in Investigation and Judicial Procedures"

Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, is holding a press conference on the bill to partially amend the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Court Organization Act at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 11th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Choi Kangwook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, has proposed a bill that restricts current prosecutors and judges from running for public office for one year after retirement. When some raised suspicions that this might be the so-called 'Yoon Seok-yeol Prosecutor General Candidacy Ban Act,' Choi rebutted, saying, "As expected, the media remains fixated on 'Yoon' no matter what."

On the 10th, Choi wrote on his Facebook, "Even the examples of past general election candidates are reported only limited to the Democratic Party," expressing his frustration.

He added, "If Mr. Yoon (Prosecutor General Yoon) wants to run, there is still plenty of time," and pointed out, "Since he is not the prosecution, there is no reason to deliberately miscalculate the dates."

He then shared an article related to the defamation trial of the late Father Cho Bio involving former President Chun Doo-hwan, stating, "Unfortunately, the decisive reason for preparing this bill is as shown in the following article."

Choi highlighted three dates during the first trial sentencing process against former President Chun, saying, "Please pay attention to what happened at that time, including which party nominated the candidate," and added, "If you search related articles a little, you will quickly understand how much the fairness of the trial could be shaken and how important trials were delayed."

The dates Choi pointed out were May 8 and December 16 of last year. At that time, the Gwangju District Court, which was the trial court, permitted former President Chun's absence. Choi also pointed to January 10 of this year, the day when Judge Jang Dong-hyuk of the Gwangju District Court, who was presiding over the case, resigned to run in the April 15 general election.

Judge Jang was nominated as the candidate for Daejeon Yuseong Gap by the United Future Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) but lost to Cho Seung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea and is currently serving as the chairman of the People Power Party's Daejeon Metropolitan City branch.

Representative Choi holding a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 11th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding this, Choi emphasized, "At least minimal sincerity is required even in bias," and stressed, "The reason for having fixed-term public officials is to maintain 'political neutrality.'"

Meanwhile, on the 11th, Choi, along with Open Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Jin-ae and Kang Min-jung, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and announced the proposal of partial amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Court Organization Act.

According to the current Public Official Election Act, judges and prosecutors who are national public officials must resign at least 90 days before the election date to run for office. However, the amendment's core is to require resignation at least one year before the election to be eligible as a candidate.

This has led some to claim that the bill targets Prosecutor General Yoon. According to the bill, if Yoon wants to run in the next presidential election (scheduled for March 2022), he must resign from his position before March next year. However, Yoon's term lasts until July next year. If Yoon serves his full term, he would be unable to run as a presidential candidate.

However, Choi explained the reason for proposing the bill as an effort to "restore public trust in the judiciary."

At the press conference that day, he said, "Due to the blatant political activities of the Prosecutor General and some prosecutors currently underway, national division and disruption of state affairs are causing harm to the people," and added, "We aim to cut off prosecutorial politics and restore judicial trust by restricting prosecutors and judges who dream of becoming politicians from running for office for one year after retirement, thereby enhancing the fairness and neutrality of investigations and judicial procedures."

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