Seo Wook and Kim Hong-hee Arrest Warrants Requested, Opposition Criticizes as 'Humiliating Previous Administration' and 'Political Retaliation'

On the National Assembly Inspection Day, former Minister Seo Wook and former Director Kim Honghee had arrest warrants requested
On the 19th, former Chief Secretary Noh Youngmin was also summoned by the prosecution

Jo Eungcheon: "Labeling as pro-North over people's livelihood... A field the Yoon administration is very confident in"
Park Honggeun, Floor Leader: "The planner of the distorted West Sea incident is the Presidential Office"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Democratic Party of Korea strongly criticized the prosecution for two consecutive days, calling it "political revenge" regarding the detention warrant requests for former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook and former Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee. With former Chief of Staff to President Moon Jae-in, Noh Young-min, also summoned on the 19th, the political purge triggered by the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident' and the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen Incident' appears to be intensifying. The Democratic Party condemned it as a "planned purge by the Presidential Office" and announced a countermeasure through a 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Investigation.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the same day, Park Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, appeared on YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' and pointed out, "In response to the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit results, the prosecution immediately requested detention warrants, which means the Board of Audit and Inspection and the prosecution have effectively become one body, and the request for detention warrants for former Minister Seo Wook and former Commissioner Kim Hong-hee is part of a political revenge trend."

He added, "There is no evidence destruction or flight risk, yet the prosecution requested the warrants, which means they want to detain and disgrace them indiscriminately," and predicted, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is conducting political oppression investigations as if dusting off the previous government. Therefore, there may also be investigations into former President Moon Jae-in."

Regarding the trial related to party leader Lee Jae-myung's 'violation of election laws,' he mentioned the possibility of a 'fabricated investigation.'

Spokesperson Park quoted Lee's statement from the previous day, "Testimonies that did not exist are beginning to appear; we must prepare for fabricated investigations," and emphasized, "The fact that new testimonies have emerged means that under the Yoon administration, they are suddenly appearing. After five months of thorough investigation, the prosecution submitted evidence equivalent to 20 volumes of books, relying only on testimonies instead of physical evidence. Therefore, it appears that existing witnesses or suspects have given different statements from the past, which, as the party leader said, means new testimonies have appeared, indicating the possibility of fabricated investigations."

He then announced plans to push for a Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor investigation after the parliamentary audit to counter this. Spokesperson Park said, "We believe a special prosecutor investigation should be pursued regarding matters related to Mrs. Kim Geon-hee, especially the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case," and added, "As the parliamentary audit ends and a new political situation unfolds, this issue will be significantly highlighted again."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same morning, Representative Cho Eung-cheon appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and said about the detention warrant requests for former Minister Seo Wook and former Commissioner Kim Hong-hee, "The prosecution has been obsessively pursuing the West Sea shooting incident and the North Korean fishermen repatriation case for several months, giving the impression they are pushing hard." He added, "The warrant requests came like lightning just five days after the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit results were announced, which is very unusual."

Representative Cho said, "Especially on the day of the Central District Prosecutors' Office parliamentary audit, when we had to answer questions all day as the audited institution, it felt like they put this on the table first and said, 'This is delicious, please enjoy,' suggesting the warrant request is being used as a 'distraction' tactic."

He explained, "President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating has been hovering in the high 20% range without any rebound, and he has focused more on North Korean threats and anti-communist campaigns rather than people's livelihoods. Since this case also focuses on whether one is pro-North Korea or not, it is a field the Yoon administration is very confident in and eager to pursue."

Representative Cho added, "During the Central District Prosecutors' Office parliamentary audit, they might have thought it advantageous to produce news that the previous government pushed the case one-sidedly, labeling it as a defection to the North."

He also suggested that the decision to request detention warrants for former government officials on the day of the Central District Prosecutors' Office parliamentary audit might have been a consensus at the regime level.

Representative Cho said, "I don't know if it was one person, two people, or several, but I think a consensus was reached," and when asked by the host if it was a 'regime-level consensus,' he answered, "Yes."

Meanwhile, the prosecution investigating the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen' case summoned former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min. Noh is suspected of presiding over a countermeasure meeting at the Blue House two days after two North Korean fishermen were captured by the Navy on November 2, 2019, and deciding on their repatriation policy.

With the prosecution requesting detention warrants for former Minister Seo Wook and former Commissioner Kim Hong-hee the previous day and summoning former Chief of Staff Noh the next day, the political purge is expected to intensify.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th, participating in the 'People's Podium - Southeast Region Mega City Edition.' During the meeting, he is seen talking with Park Hong-geun, floor leader. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the same day, Floor Leader Park Hong-geun raised his voice at the Supreme Council meeting, saying, "The Presidential Office's planned purge is finally turning into a melodrama," and stated, "It is clear that the Presidential Office is the planner of the distorted West Sea incident."

Floor Leader Park said, "The Board of Audit and Inspection distributed a press release last Friday comparable to an indictment, and the prosecution, as if waiting for this, tried to amplify the dramatic effect with the warrant requests," and urged, "We once again call for the disclosure of the National Defense Committee's closed session minutes." He continued, "The truth, which even former People Power Party lawmakers like Han Ki-ho accepted and acknowledged regarding the defection circumstances, is all contained in those minutes," and emphasized, "If the People Power Party continues to refuse, the Democratic Party will push for disclosure through procedures allowed by the National Assembly Act."

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