Choo Mi-ae: "'Political Prosecutor' Presidential Bid? Throwing Democracy to the Devil"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, saying, "The idea that a political prosecutor can directly advance to the presidency is equivalent to throwing our democracy to the devil."

On the 11th, former Minister Chu appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' and, when asked about her thoughts on former Prosecutor General Yoon's actions, said, "We already experienced political soldiers 40 years ago and how they destroyed democracy. During the Kim Young-sam administration, the Hanahoe political soldiers were eradicated."

She added, "However, political prosecutors are even more frightening because they stand holding a sword in one hand and a law book in the other, which is far more formidable," and said, "This causes a crisis in democracy, and regardless of the level of democracy, it can be destroyed overnight without us even realizing it."

She emphasized, "Imagine the fear people would feel if the person who can freely control the prosecution becomes president. Therefore, the idea that a political prosecutor can directly advance to the presidency is just like handing our democracy over to the devil."

Regarding the investigation of former Prosecutor General Yoon by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gongu-cheo), she mentioned, "There have been accusations of abuse of authority, and the investigation is proceeding according to the purpose of establishing Gongu-cheo."

Former Minister Chu stated, "In the investigation of Han Myeong-sook's political funds case, prosecutors repeatedly subjected prisoner witnesses to collective training to induce perjury. Even though a meeting of high prosecutors was held and Prosecutor Im Eun-jung diligently investigated and drafted the indictment, all of that was ignored, and a non-prosecution decision was made," adding, "The statute of limitations has expired. So, the abuse of authority and dereliction of duty that led to this has been reported, and asking Gongu-cheo to handle it aligns with the purpose of its establishment. Saying that this is some kind of new dictatorship seems to be a statement made without studying the law."

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