Kim Eui-gyeom: "'Yoon Sadan' Prosecutors Said They Felt Sorry to Cho Kuk"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who has been indicted on charges of school admission corruption involving his children, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong on June 25.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Kim Eui-gyeom, a member of the Open Democratic Party, stated that two prosecutors closely affiliated with former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who investigated former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, called Cho and apologized, saying, "(Regarding the investigation of the Cho family) they expressed their remorse and told the minister to endure well. Better days will come."

On the 10th, Kim appeared on YTN's "Lee Dong-hyung's News Face-off" and said, "I spoke with former Minister Cho Kuk a few days ago," adding, "He told me that two prosecutors from Yoon Seok-yeol’s team, who are widely recognized, called him one after another."

He continued, "One is a current prosecutor, and the other recently retired from Yoon Seok-yeol’s team. Both were directly or indirectly involved in the investigation of the Cho family," and "I heard from former Minister Cho that they called to express their remorse and encouraged him to endure well."

He added, "Aren't they the prosecutors who devastated former Minister Cho’s family?" and explained, "(They) led the destruction of the Cho family’s reputation, and both prosecutors called individually."

Kim said, "From my journalistic perspective, when they were serving under Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, they must have been motivated by the organization’s inherent logic," and "But now, seeing Yoon Seok-yeol stepping down and actively engaging in politics, making almost daily controversial remarks, they might be feeling some doubts about him."

He also added, "Watching former Prosecutor General Yoon’s approval ratings decline, even those who were part of his team in the past might be shaken."

When asked if the prosecutors close to former Prosecutor General Yoon would have called if his approval ratings had remained high, Kim replied, "It is highly likely they would not have."

He said, "Didn’t Yoon Seok-yeol himself say that when members of his team were facing disadvantages, being shaken, or demoted, he told them to endure and wait until the end, calling them one by one?" and "At that time, with high approval ratings, the prosecutors might have been willing to endure and wait, but seeing the decline, it probably gave them a reason to reconsider. This is my interpretation."

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