Park Beom-gye "Yoon Seok-yeol's Remarks on 'Moon Government's Deep-rooted Corruption Investigation' Regrettable... Undermines Prosecutorial Neutrality"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, criticized Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, saying his remark about "clearing out deep-rooted evils during his administration" could undermine the neutrality of the prosecution.

On the morning of the 11th, Minister Park met with reporters in front of the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Building and stated, "It might be different if it were another candidate, but since (Candidate Yoon) is a former Prosecutor General, there are concerns."

He said, "Statements mentioning specific prosecutors general can harm the political neutrality of the prosecution and cause organizational unrest," adding, "It is very regrettable."

Minister Park said, "Regarding investigations into deep-rooted evils of the current government, I believe the public's concerns lie elsewhere," and emphasized, "The prosecution is more stable than ever and is making considerable efforts to change."

Earlier, on the 9th, in an interview with JoongAng Ilbo, Candidate Yoon was asked, "Will you conduct investigations into the previous administration's deep-rooted evils like in the early days of the Moon Jae-in government if you come to power?" He replied, "Yes, I will," adding, "The investigations conducted in the early days of the government were done according to constitutional principles, and if the next government investigates their own corruption and illegalities, is that retaliation? Everything is done according to the system."

Regarding 'Prosecutor General A,' who appears to refer to Han Dong-hoon, considered a close aide of Candidate Yoon, he evaluated, "He suffered a lot under this administration, so is it wrong for him to become the Seoul Central District Prosecutor General? He has endured the administration's harm and has acted almost like an independence activist."

In relation to this, President Moon Jae-in expressed strong anger the day before, saying, "I strongly condemn the baseless labeling of the government as a target of deep-rooted evil investigations and illegal acts," and urged for an apology.

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