Ruling Party Backs Down from Impeaching Prosecutor General

An impeachment of Yoon Seok-youl would have been a gift to Korean conservatives who could have argued that the Moon administration was trying to get rid of the prosecutor who was investigating their corruption:

Blue House Spokesman Kang Min-seok on Friday delivers President Moon Jae-in's public apology for the disorder caused by the controversy over Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's aborted suspension order. [YONHAP]
Blue House Spokesman Kang Min-seok on Friday delivers President Moon Jae-in’s public apology for the disorder caused by the controversy over Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s aborted suspension order. [YONHAP]

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Saturday urged restraint in the ongoing feud with the state prosecution service, although a few in its ranks are calling for the impeachment of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.   
   
Last Thursday, the Seoul Administrative Court reversed President Moon Jae-in’s two-month suspension of Yoon, leaving the DP divided about the next steps in the administration’s drive to tame the prosecution service.  
   
Some hardliners in the party, like Rep. Kim Doo-gwan, argued the DP should wield its large majority in the legislature to impeach Yoon — an action unprecedented in Korean political history that would inevitably generate a constitutional standoff.  
   
But cooler heads apparently prevailed, with DP Spokesman Huh Young on Saturday calling on members to “control” their emotions and refrain from positions that could further alienate the party from a public increasingly repelled by the administration’s war against Yoon.  
   
Impeachment proceedings against Yoon “could lead to a rejection by the Constitutional Court,” Huh wrote — in other words, they could fail spectacularly. He added the party should avoid action that might backfire and focus, instead, on building a stronger legal basis for prosecutorial reform.  
   
Yet the factor most instrumental in tempering the party’s antagonism towards the top prosecutor was a public statement from the president himself on Friday. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the fact that the ruling party was considering impeaching Yoon could be an indication that they are worried that he will uncover more ruling party corruption.

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2ID Doc
2ID Doc
3 years ago

I guess the DP will go to the tried and true throwing um jumping off a building soon.

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