Moon Jae-in, Chu Mi-ae, Yoon Seok-yeol, Jeong Gyeong-sim... The Blue House Petition Board Is Now in Political Conflict [Han Seung-gon's Political Notebook]

청와대 국민청원 게시판... Jung Kyung-shim Professor 1st Trial Panel Impeachment Agreement Exceeds 300,000
Yoon Seok-yeol Dismissal, Chu Mi-ae Reappointment and Other Sharp Political Conflict Petitions Submitted

Cheong Wa Dae National Petition Board. Photo by Cheong Wa Dae Petition Board Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "We demand the impeachment of the Jeong Gyeong-sim trial panel," "The Democratic Party should impeach Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol!"

The Blue House's national petition board has turned into a 'political strife' (政爭 - a fight in politics or political struggle) board. Most of the petitions that receive 200,000 signatures, which qualify for a response from the Blue House, are about the impeachment of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and the reaffirmation of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae.

Also, after the court accepted Prosecutor General Yoon's request for suspension of disciplinary action enforcement, claiming the disciplinary action was unfair, a petition was posted labeling the judiciary as a deep-rooted problem and calling for judicial reform. This trend shows that sharp political conflicts, rather than everyday civil complaints, are moving onto the Blue House petition board.

Petition Demanding the Impeachment of Judge in the First Trial of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University. Photo by National Petition Board Capture

As of the 26th, petitions with over 300,000 signatures include △ impeachment of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim's trial panel △ dismissal of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol △ reaffirmation of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae.

On the 23rd, a petition titled "We demand the impeachment of the first trial panel (Im Jeong-yeop, Kwon Seong-su, Kim Seon-hee) of Jeong Gyeong-sim" was posted. The petitioner called for judicial reform and criticized the trial panel, saying Professor Jeong's entire life was denied.

The petitioner explained the background, saying, "This petition should be made by the legislative branch representing the people, not by the Blue House or executive branch, but since judicial reform is an important task for which the Blue House and government share responsibility, I am posting this petition."

He continued, "From the beginning, during the prosecution's politically motivated forced and separate investigations related to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his family, all documents related to the child's college admission were scrutinized, and the prosecution indicted that all documents submitted during the admission process were forged. The three judges accepted all the prosecution's claims," criticizing the trial panel.

He added, "As a result of today's ruling, a person's entire life has been completely denied. This is not a case of drug trafficking or drunk driving with driver substitution, yet the judiciary, which is lenient on such cases, judged that all admission documents were forged, denying a person's entire life. I want to ask the trial panel if this judgment was truly made according to the conscience enshrined in the Constitution," emphasizing his point.

A Blue House petition urging the dismissal of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Blue House petition board capture

Also, in a petition posted on the 27th of last month calling for the dismissal of Prosecutor General Yoon, the petitioner stated, "Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol should be dismissed according to procedure and thoroughly investigated and severely punished based on evidence already revealed to the world."

He also urged, "All prosecutors who disobey Minister Choo Mi-ae's rightful measures should be made to resign. Please firmly support Minister Choo Mi-ae, who is leading the forefront of prosecutorial reform, until the end."

Meanwhile, on the 17th, a petition titled "President Moon Jae-in, who violated the spirit of the Constitution and undermined the rule of law, must be impeached" was posted. The petitioner claimed, "President Moon Jae-in, who violated the spirit of the Constitution and undermined the rule of law, must be impeached."

He continued, "Disciplining the incumbent Prosecutor General, whose term is guaranteed by the Constitution, for two months on disciplinary grounds is effectively creating a powerless prosecutor general to block investigations into the living power and turning the prosecution into a servant of the regime. This is a takeover of the prosecution," he argued.

A petition urging the reappointment of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. Photo by National Petition Board capture

As sharply contentious petitions appear on the petition board, citizens showed mixed reactions. Kim, a company employee in his 30s, said, "The petition board is not only for everyday petitions; I think politically sensitive topics can also be petitioned."

On the other hand, some expressed incomprehension. Lee, a worker in his 40s, said, "Political petitions should be handled by each political party or by party members themselves. There are so many urgent petitions like school violence and others." He criticized, "It feels more like a political board than a petition board."

President Moon Jae-in and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, regarding Prosecutor General Yoon's reinstatement, the political sphere is escalating into a political struggle beyond the petition board situation. Especially, the ruling and opposition parties have shown stark differences in views over President Moon's apology on the 25th concerning the court's decision on Prosecutor General Yoon.

The Democratic Party highly evaluated President Moon's apology and clearly stated the completion of institutional reform of the prosecution without setbacks. Kang Seon-woo, the Democratic Party spokesperson, said in a briefing on the 25th, "It is a responsible statement from the appointing authority and a declaration of determination to complete prosecutorial reform," adding, "We will continue efforts to prevent problems such as the inappropriate surveillance of judges, which has become clearer through the court's judgment."

Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the People Power Party, commented on President Moon's apology, calling it "a self-serving apology worse than no apology." She questioned, "What does the apology mean as the appointing authority? Is it a debt of gratitude to Minister Choo Mi-ae, or anger toward Prosecutor General Yoon, who investigated the living power after listening to the president?"

She added, "Although they say they will respect the court's decision, it reads as a determination to accelerate the takeover of the prosecution," dismissing it as "an apology that would have been better not made."

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