Lee's Call for 'Shincheonji Special Investigation'... Yoon Says "Even a Passing Cow Would Laugh at This"

Yoon Seok-yeol Fires Back at Lee Jae-myung Saying "I Understand Your Urgency, But It Was Too Pitiful to Watch"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, described the claim by Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, calling for a special investigation into the alleged refusal to conduct a search and seizure of Shincheonji as "something that would make even a passing cow laugh."

On the afternoon of the 12th, Yoon made this remark to reporters after paying condolences to the victims of the Yeocheon NCC factory explosion accident at the funeral hall of Jeil Hospital in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do.

On the same day, Lee mentioned the suspicion that Yoon refused the search and seizure of Shincheonji during his time as Prosecutor General, saying, "The fact that shamanism and cults influenced the nation's highest leader and that the prosecution power was exchanged for political interests is absolutely unacceptable," and added, "Regardless of the election outcome, I believe a special investigation is necessary in any case."

In response, Yoon retorted, "I wonder what was so urgent," adding, "Whether it was what I did as mayor of Seongnam or the way the election campaign was conducted, it seems like something that would make even a passing cow laugh."

Yoon further explained, "We took the server from Shincheonji’s Gwacheon headquarters and dispatched employees from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for a month to conduct a full forensic investigation for the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and handed over the data," adding, "That formed the basis for additional investigations and quarantine measures, and we conducted extensive fund tracking and related search and seizures for about five months, leading the judicial processing of the Shincheonji leader."

He then directly criticized Lee, saying, "At that time, as a politician, he was just putting on a show, and in Gyeonggi Province, they even conducted investigations but never filed a complaint, which is even more suspicious," emphasizing, "Refusing the Daejang-dong special investigation right before the election but campaigning like this is not right." He added, "I understand the urgency, but it was really pitiful to watch."

The Yoon campaign headquarters also targeted Lee. Lee Yang-su, the chief spokesperson of the campaign headquarters, criticized in a statement that day, "The more urgent the election becomes, the more Lee clings to a false shamanism frame," adding, "He looks extremely desperate."

Along with this, the chief spokesperson pointed out, "Yoon has conducted rational investigations and prosecutions based on evidence and legal principles for 27 years in the prosecution. This process has been witnessed by countless citizens and colleagues," and said, "The false frame that a shaman was involved in decision-making only invites ridicule."

In a TV debate hosted by the Korea Journalists Association the previous day, Lee also pointed out to Yoon, "When Shincheonji obstructed COVID-19 quarantine, the Minister of Justice ordered a search and seizure, but it was refused after consulting the Ministry of Health and Welfare. There was a report that a person called Geonjin Beopsa said, 'If you touch Lee Man-hee (Shincheonji Chairman), as a medium, it will harm you,' and the search and seizure was abandoned," asking, "What was the reason for not conducting the search and seizure?"

Yoon responded, "The Minister of Justice's order for the search and seizure was a complete show. It seems both Lee and former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae wanted to do something flashy," adding, "The order for the search and seizure was leaked to the media. It was a completely comedic show, and everyone laughed."

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