Song Young-gil: "Yoon Seok-yeol owes his selection to President Moon... Running for president is morally inappropriate"

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on Yoon Seok-yeol, the former Prosecutor General who is emerging as a presidential candidate for the opposition, saying, "He received a kind of special favor from President Moon Jae-in," and added, "It is morally inappropriate for him to become the opposition's presidential candidate." He also criticized the People Power Party for requesting the Board of Audit and Inspection to investigate illegal real estate transactions, calling it "an act that undermines political neutrality."

In an interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that morning, Song said about former Prosecutor General Yoon, "Former Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il was from the 18th class, but Yoon, who was from the 23rd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, was promoted exceptionally by skipping five classes and was appointed as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and then Prosecutor General. He received a kind of special favor from President Moon Jae-in. It is morally inappropriate for him to become the opposition's presidential candidate."

Regarding the official timing of Yoon's presidential bid, Song likened it to selling insurance. He said, "The sooner the better for the public. When selling insurance products, if you sell without sufficient explanation, the insurance contract can later be canceled due to fraud or breach of duty to explain. It is difficult to cancel a president, so he must sufficiently explain his product in advance to avoid incomplete sales."

On the issue of whether to expel some Democratic Party lawmakers who refused to comply after being urged to leave the party following the full-scale real estate transaction investigation by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), Song was reserved. He said, "It does not seem appropriate to comment on that now," and added, "After a day or two, people will understand why we had no choice but to do this. All lawmakers will accept it from the perspective of putting the party before personal interests."

He further explained, "Leaving the party immediately based on the ACRC list, which has limited investigative authority, is clearly a preemptive and excessive measure in anyone's eyes. There were also procedural flaws in not listening to sufficient defense." He said the reason for such a drastic measure was because the party was being framed with double standards. He also requested the lawmakers' explanations and a swift investigation by the police special investigation unit.

On the same day, Song criticized the People Power Party for requesting the Board of Audit and Inspection to conduct a full-scale real estate investigation, saying, "The Board of Audit and Inspection, a presidential agency, auditing legislative and judicial officials violates the separation of powers," and added, "It is clearly stated in the law, but people like Acting Leader Kim Ki-hyun, who is a former judge, and former floor leader Joo Ho-young should not do this."

Song said, "For a lawmaker to agree to be audited by the Board of Audit and Inspection is like completely surrendering oneself to a presidential agency," and pointed out, "Chairman Choi Jae-hyung of the Board of Audit and Inspection is being mentioned as an opposition presidential candidate, so doing this is too political and undermines the political neutrality of the Board of Audit and Inspection itself."

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