Democratic Party's Kim Yong-min: "Yoon Seok-yeol, Beginning of Conservative Decline... Sponsorship Allegations Could Become Bribery Charges"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Kim Yong-min, senior supreme council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, harshly criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, saying he "will mark the beginning of the conservative downfall." Regarding allegations of sponsorship involving Yoon's wife, he emphasized the need for thorough verification, stating, "It could even be connected to bribery charges against former Prosecutor General Yoon."

On the 30th, Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "The public is expressing a lot of dissatisfaction and disappointment with the existing political forces, and this is an era demanding new politics, new people, and a new spirit of the times," adding, "There are certainly symbolic meanings in Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jun-seok that appear new to those people."

However, he noted, "Verification of whether they truly align with the spirit of the times and serve the people has hardly been done yet," and said, "If Lee Jun-seok (People Power Party) was the trigger for the conservative rebound, then with former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's candidacy, the conservative downfall will begin."

Although Yoon mentioned creativity and innovation in his political participation declaration the day before, Kim cited the prosecution of Lee Jae-woong, former CEO of SoCar and known as the most innovative company 'Tada,' by the prosecution as an example. Kim said, "Innovation was completely destroyed. As these things are confirmed one by one and evaluated, I think it will become clear that he is not the person to bring the new political wind that the public expected."

Regarding Yoon's press conference appearance, Kim remarked, "He looked very unstable, continuously turning his head without confidence while speaking. Watching that, I thought he was somewhat unprepared."

Kim is one of the most active advocates for prosecutorial reform within the Democratic Party. He said, "This person (former Prosecutor General Yoon) has completely forgotten what actions the prosecution took and how atrocious those actions were, as well as his role as the head. Instead, he uses a rhetoric that blames the government for the prosecution's mistakes, which I really don't understand."

He continued, "Yoon Seok-yeol was the person who most succinctly showed the prosecution's past mistakes," adding, "For example, in the Kim Hak-ui case, the problems of the prosecutors who initially cleared Kim Hak-ui were all covered up, while prosecutors who tried to investigate Kim Hak-ui were oddly investigated. Also, he effectively obstructed investigations into his closest aide, prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, which led to his own disciplinary action and even a court judgment partially recognizing it."

When asked about the most dangerous issue for former Prosecutor General Yoon during the verification process, Kim answered, "The fact that the number of sponsors suddenly increased for the company run by his wife when Yoon became the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is not just a family issue but could also be connected to bribery charges against former Prosecutor General Yoon."

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