Kim Nam-guk: "'Time of Jojuk' Retaliation Investigation as an Opportunity for Evaluation... Demands for Apology Are Rather a Frame"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on the publication of a book by former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, saying, "It allows us to reconsider the evaluation that the prosecution abused its investigative authority, conducted political investigations, or carried out retaliatory investigations."

On the 1st, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "(Former Minister Cho) seems to think that a primary evaluation can be made based on the investigation results," adding, "The prosecution itself has stated that there has never been such a large-scale search and seizure operation since the founding of the nation, and the investigation was conducted without questioning the accuser, complainant, or suspect, so it seems possible to evaluate based on the investigation results."

He continued, "As former Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki also mentioned, initially Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl claimed that the private equity fund was a channel for slush fund creation and spent an hour focusing solely on the private equity fund during the investigation, but in reality, the private equity fund was not even indicted," and added, "The forgery of the certificate of commendation was indicted on the day of the confirmation hearing, but the facts and the investigation results did not comply with any of the journalistic principles, so additional search and seizure and indictment were carried out."

Regarding whether the Democratic Party should apologize, he said, "Since this is not a power-related corruption committed during public service but an incident from over ten years ago when he was a civilian, there is a concern about whether it is appropriate for the party to apologize on his behalf as the responsible entity."

He added, "It is hard to even consider him as a member of the Democratic Party, so is it right for the Democratic Party to apologize for this? Former Minister Cho Kuk has already apologized several times to the public for points that did not meet the public's expectations, sincerely through writings and interviews, so I think it is appropriate to consider that apology sufficient."

Kim also said, "Even if an apology is made, does that mean we can escape that frame? The most important thing is how to reform, and since people's livelihood is the most important, continuously pushing forward various reform tasks related to people's livelihood is more important." Regarding claims by Democratic Party members such as Cho Eung-cheon, he remarked, "I think they are falling into the frame while saying not to fall into the frame."

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