Im Jong-seok: "Yoon's remarks on investigating deep-rooted evils are a clear declaration of war against the current government"

"Yoon Already Determined to Enter Politics When Clashing with Chu"

Im Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff to the President Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Woo-seok] Former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok on the 14th commented on People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol's recent statement in the media that he would investigate the corruption of the previous administration after taking office, calling it "a strong message sent inside and outside the prosecution" and "it could be a clear declaration of war against the current government."

Lim said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency that day, "(Yoon candidate, seeing his high approval ratings) was intoxicated with power and publicly announced political revenge." He added, "The interview questions for presidential candidates go back and forth several times for coordination. Yoon fully understood the intention behind the question about whether he would investigate the previous administration's corruption after taking office and deliberately gave that answer." He viewed Yoon's remarks not as a slip of the tongue but as a deliberate statement.

He said, "President Moon Jae-in probably thought 'this won't do' when he saw Yoon's answer in this context." Earlier, President Moon expressed strong anger at Yoon's interview during a staff meeting on the morning of the 10th, saying, "I strongly condemn the baseless labeling of the government as a target of corruption investigations and illegality," and demanded an apology.

Lim criticized, "When Yoon was appointed Prosecutor General, opinions on prosecutorial reform were asked from four candidates, and Yoon was said to have spoken most actively," adding, "Yoon claimed he would carry out prosecutorial reform best but actually resisted the reform."

He also added, "When clashing with former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, Yoon had already made up his mind and started politics."

Lim raised his voice, saying, "Although there is much public opinion hoping for a regime change, is returning to the alliance of the old Hannara Party and political prosecutors really regime change?" and "I want to ask if deploying THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) to alienate China and provoke inter-Korean conflict is what the people want in a regime change."

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