Yoon's Response to the Full-Scale Attack on the "Yoon Seok-yeol Gate": "It's Absurd... Please Judge Common Sense"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] The so-called 'accusation solicitation scandal' involving Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General, continues to unfold.

On the 3rd, the Democratic Party of Korea launched a full-scale offensive by highlighting the 'Yoon Seok-yeol Gate.' This controversy arose from media reports alleging that Son Joon-sung, then the head of the Investigation Information Policy Office at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and a close aide to Yoon Seok-yeol, solicited accusations against ruling party politicians to Kim Woong, a candidate for the Seoul Songpa-gap constituency from the United Future Party (now People Power Party), just before the April 15 general election last year. On the same day, Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, criticized at the Supreme Council meeting, saying, "This is an incident comparable to the Hanahoe of the new military group led by Chun Doo-hwan, who staged a military coup in the past," and added, "If this allegation is true, former Prosecutor General Yoon is the head of the Prosecutors' Hanahoe." Additionally, Supreme Council member Kim Yong-min stated, "We will actively address this issue during the national audit."

Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party and presidential candidate, also criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon. On the same day, Lee posted on his Facebook titled, "Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, step down and explain yourself to the people." He pointed out, "It was revealed through media reports that former Prosecutor General Yoon solicited the opposition party to accuse ruling party figures ahead of the April 15 general election last year," and criticized, "After denying such allegations, today he showed a brazen attitude by saying, 'If I solicited accusations, why would that be wrong?'" He further stated, "This incident is a second national scandal," and urged, "I call on the People Power Party to cooperate firmly to ensure that legal procedures against former Prosecutor General Yoon and the involved parties are carried out promptly."

Other opposition presidential candidates have also launched successive attacks. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min criticized, "Could middle-ranking officials have solicited accusations without the knowledge of the Prosecutor General?" Lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo pointed out, "Instead, prepare well for your wife's stock manipulation case and your own 'commissioned accusation suspicion' case." Former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung also mentioned, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon should cooperate fully to clarify the facts of the case."

Lee Jin-dong, publisher of the internet media Newsbus, which first reported the allegations, appeared on tbs radio on the 3rd and revealed, "The materials were delivered through social networking services (SNS) between lawmaker Kim and prosecutor Son." He added, "We have circumstantial evidence proving that lawmaker Kim recognized the illegality and handed over the materials to the party," and claimed, "The judgment document was sent from prosecutor Son to lawmaker Kim via messenger. The file containing the judgment document showed the name 'Sent by Son Joon-sung'."

However, lawmaker Kim and prosecutor Son have completely denied these allegations. According to Dong-A Ilbo on the 4th, lawmaker Kim claimed he has no memory of receiving materials from prosecutor Son and countered, "Newsbus, which raised the issue, should disclose the original data." He explained, "Since the police always keep a close watch on me as an opposition lawmaker, when I receive tips, I first suggest leaving the chat room," and added, "Prosecutor Son is a friend I like, but we are not close enough to eat together separately." Meanwhile, prosecutor Son also stated that the article's content is not true and said, "I have no knowledge of this, so there is nothing to explain."

Earlier, former Prosecutor General Yoon himself denied the allegations. On the 3rd, after visiting the Christian Hall and meeting with reporters, he said, "It's absurd," and emphasized, "Please judge based on common sense." He also stressed, "If I solicited accusations, why wouldn't the accusations have been made?" and said, "If there is evidence, present it. Show it and talk about it." Former Prosecutor General Yoon added, "At that time, investigations unfavorable to the regime were not conducted as retaliation personnel measures were taken against prosecutors who conducted such investigations. If the opposition party made accusations, the prosecution was less likely to actively investigate," and stated, "The photo of the judgment document disclosed by the publisher is just an unverified photo of unknown origin."

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