People Power Party Slams Yoon's Two-Month Suspension: Jung Jinseok Calls It "Political Discipline," Kwon Seongdong Says "Moon Is the Director," Kim Kiheon Denounces "Viciousness"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy, reporter Kim Hyemin] On December 16, the People Power Party immediately voiced criticism regarding the two-month suspension imposed on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

Jung Jinseok, the party's most senior member, wrote on his Facebook page that day, "This is a politically motivated disciplinary action aimed at quashing investigations into those in power, while avoiding outright dismissal out of fear of public backlash."

Kwon Seongdong, a four-term lawmaker, also stated on MBC Radio, "The Ministry of Justice had already reached a conclusion and proceeded according to instructions from the Blue House. The authority to appoint or dismiss Prosecutor General Yoon lies with the President, and considering that the President occasionally gave instructions to uphold procedural legitimacy, it appears the disciplinary process was only followed to create a justification."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kwon further criticized, "Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and the disciplinary committee members are nothing more than Red Guards and puppets. The director behind all this is President Moon Jae-in." He added, "A two-month suspension is not only an unreasonable disciplinary reason, but the process and the composition of the disciplinary committee were extremely biased. Once this goes to court, it will certainly be rectified, and public anger and backlash will only grow."

Kwon also predicted that Prosecutor General Yoon would become a target of investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). He said, "Once the CIO is launched, left-wing civic groups supporting the Democratic Party will file a complaint against Prosecutor General Yoon for abuse of authority. In that case, the CIO will have no grounds not to investigate. Whether or not he becomes the first case, it is clear that he will be investigated by the CIO simply for having investigated those in power."

Kim Kiheon, another four-term lawmaker, also strongly condemned the situation, calling it "a rigged game with a predetermined outcome."

Kim said, "How can they be so unscrupulous, even under the sacred name of law? It feels like a reckless push reminiscent of a military revolutionary tribunal. President Moon hid behind the scenes because if he dismissed Yoon directly, public sentiment would turn negative and responsibility would fall on him. He did this to achieve his goal while avoiding responsibility."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the two-month suspension, he commented, "It was a political calculation made in advance, deemed sufficient because the CIO can be launched within about two months." He continued, "By suspending Prosecutor General Yoon and stripping him of all authority, they can launch the CIO in the meantime and then take away all investigations into high-profile corruption cases. The Blue House likely saw this as the best way to avoid responsibility."

Kim also remarked, "President Moon should have called in Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon to speak with them directly or persuade them, but instead, he completely humiliated Yoon by pinning utterly groundless charges on him. What public official could possibly accept that?"

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