Yoon Seok-yeol: "Is Direct Presidential Run Hypocrisy? It's a Contradictory Story"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is answering questions from the press at a presidential election candidacy press conference held on the 29th of last month at the Maeheon Yun Bong-gil Memorial Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Yoon Seok-yeol, the former Prosecutor General who has declared his candidacy for the presidential election and is actively pursuing his campaign, described the allegations surrounding him as "mostly issues that have already been revealed (by a certain political camp)."

On the evening of the 30th, Yoon appeared in an interview with KBS News and stated, "For about 8 to 9 years, I have been continuously attacked online by people who have a grudge against my in-laws, and in some cases, these attacks have been exploited by certain political camps for political attacks. That’s how I have been living."

He emphasized, "We need to verify with accurate facts, and if there are politicians challenging the presidential election, almost the same and fair standards should be applied."

Earlier, at a press conference on the 29th of last month announcing his presidential bid, Yoon explained his comment that "(the government) is engaging in shameless behavior, privatizing power, and taking freedom away from liberal democracy" by saying, "I pointed out that the government is not an ideological community but a community of interests. If most citizens do not sympathize with such words, there is absolutely no reason to use them."

Regarding criticism that it was undesirable to jump directly into politics, he was asked by the host if this was a case of "double standards" after he said, "It is not an absolute principle."

He had previously said, "Public authority comes from the people. Since the prosecution must be the people's prosecution, I think there is significance in the convention that a person who has served as the highest commander of the prosecution does not run for elected office. However, that is not an absolute principle. Although it has not been done as a convention, I think in special cases it is a matter for the people to decide."

In response, he rebutted, "Didn’t this administration also strip judicial officials and quasi-judicial officials of their positions right before elections and have judges and prosecutors run for office? Even in the last general election," adding, "That statement itself is, to me, an inconsistent argument."

Regarding criticism about his lack of political experience, he replied, "I believe I have accumulated enough experience to make basic, mistake-free judgments if I receive expert assistance."

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