President Moon: "If the Corruption Investigation Office had existed, there would have been no 'Park Geun-hye State Manipulation'" (Update)

Opening Remarks at the 61st Cabinet Meeting

President Moon Jae-in is presiding over a video Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on the morning of the 15th. 2020.12.15 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in said on the 15th, "If the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gong-su-cheo) had been established, the Park Geun-hye administration's state affairs manipulation might not have occurred," adding, "There are no 'what-ifs' in history, but it is a regrettable history." He then directly criticized the opposition party, which has opposed the revision of Gong-su-cheo that removed the opposition's veto power over the recommendation of the Gong-su-cheo chief, calling it 'dictatorship,' saying, "It is about adding one more sword of investigation against the regime's power-type corruption, so it is difficult to understand how this can be connected to dictatorship in a common-sense way."

President Moon presided over a video Cabinet meeting at the Blue House that morning and, in his opening remarks, reminded that the 'establishment of Gong-su-cheo' has been a 'long-standing aspiration of Korean democracy' pursued by past administrations, and that it was his campaign pledge not only in the last presidential election but also in the 2012 election. He also added that the establishment of Gong-su-cheo "is by no means an ideological or partisan issue," noting, "The predecessor of the current main opposition party, the Grand National Party, also proposed Gong-su-cheo as a pledge in the 2004 general election, and many prominent figures in the opposition who now oppose Gong-su-cheo were actively advocating for it in the past."

In particular, President Moon said, "Gong-su-cheo is also significant as a democratic control measure over the prosecution," adding, "The prosecution has held omnipotent authority but has become a sanctuary where it is not held accountable for its own mistakes and there is no way to hold it responsible, which has drawn public criticism." At the same time as the Cabinet meeting, the Ministry of Justice's second disciplinary committee meeting on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was underway.

President Moon said, "Gong-su-cheo is not a monstrous organization that weakens prosecutorial power," explaining, "Gong-su-cheo has only 25 prosecutors and 40 investigators, which cannot be compared to the prosecution organization that has 2,300 active prosecutors." He also said, "Even if Gong-su-cheo is established, the prosecution's power remains formidable," and addressed the prosecution, saying, "The public only thinks that 'checks and balances are needed on prosecutorial power.' I sincerely hope the prosecution accepts this point." He repeatedly emphasized, "No institution can exist above the people."

At the Cabinet meeting that day, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae attended via video from the Government Seoul Office.

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