Yoon Seok-yeol's Side: "Accusation of Report Solicitation? Chu Mi-ae Confessed It... Reveal the Relationship Between Son Jun-sung and the Blue House"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential pre-candidate of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential pre-candidate of the People Power Party, strongly urged, "Since there was a confession from former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, the truth about how the Blue House and the Democratic Party intervened in the prosecutor personnel appointments in August last year must be clarified," and added, "Former Minister Choo should also honestly reveal the truth."

Kim Byung-min, spokesperson for Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign, released a statement on the 15th, saying, "Former Minister Choo made a shocking confession during yesterday's Democratic Party presidential candidate TV debate," and "she admitted that there was protection from the Democratic Party and the Blue House regarding the retention of Prosecutor Son Jun-sung."

Spokesperson Kim pointed out, "Former Minister Choo shifted the blame to former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, and Lee held former Minister Choo responsible," and added, "After mentioning the Blue House, former Minister Choo hastily closed her mouth, saying it was not a matter to respond to."

He continued, "Summarizing the content, it means that the Minister of Justice accepted personnel requests made by the Democratic Party and the Blue House," and expressed suspicion, saying, "This implies that a prosecutor retained at the regime level contacted opposition politicians and solicited accusations, but the so-called accusation solicitation is not logically understandable, and there are more than a few questionable points."

He also requested a response from Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye. Spokesperson Kim said, "Minister Park has previously exaggerated the relationship between Prosecutor Son and Candidate Yoon in an absurd manner," and asked, "Minister Park, what are your thoughts on the relationship between Leader Lee and Prosecutor Son? Also, please explain the relationship between Prosecutor Son and the Blue House."

Earlier, former Democratic Party leader and presidential candidate Lee Nak-yeon directly criticized former Minister Choo during MBC's '100-Minute Debate' the previous day, saying, "If (Yoon's close aide) Prosecutor Son was found to be problematic, (Candidate Choo) should have taken personnel action immediately," and added, "I don't know whose lobbying it was, but was it former General Yoon's lobbying, or did the minister let that person (Prosecutor Son) keep the position? That should not happen."

In response, former Minister Choo said, "There was lobbying from Candidate Yoon, and there were people who protected him within the party," and added, "There was also a faction protecting Prosecutor Son within the Blue House," and retorted, "Didn't Leader Lee create such an atmosphere during his time as party leader?"

Additionally, Spokesperson Kim criticized the so-called 'accusation solicitation' whistleblower Jo Seong-eun for deleting the Telegram chat room with Assemblyman Kim Woong while submitting evidence, saying, "The smoking gun for truth verification, the chat room, was destroyed by Jo's own action, which not only undermines the credibility of her previous statements but also raises greater suspicion about her motives for whistleblowing."

He further addressed Jo, saying, "Is there a secret in the chat records with Assemblyman Kim that should not be revealed? Or does it contain contradictory statements that conflict with her previous claims?" and emphasized, "If not, then it is inexplicable why she, who volunteered as a whistleblower, destroyed the key to uncovering the truth herself."

Spokesperson Kim also claimed, "Considering Jo's suspicious meeting with National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won and her past social media posts full of hostility toward Candidate Yoon, it is difficult to see her as acting with pure motives in this whistleblowing."

He added, "Jo did not report the document she received from Assemblyman Kim Woong in April last year to the party. She kept it for a year and four months before bringing it out," and noted, "There were also reports that before handing over materials to Newsbus, which made malicious false reports about Candidate Yoon, Jo requested phone call files related to Candidate Yoon's wife."

Spokesperson Kim raised his voice, saying, "Everyone is guessing what motives Jo has for doing this. The fact that she deleted the chat room with Assemblyman Kim Woong was probably out of fear that her impure intentions would be revealed," and urged, "I call for reflection from politicians who tried to influence the opposition party's presidential primary by riding on the Newsbus false reports, which were full of flaws from the start."

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