Category: Politics-Korea

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:

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.

The latest attempt to get rid of Yoon Seok-youl has failed once again:

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was reinstated Thursday after a court granted an injunction against his suspension by the justice minister amid feuds over prosecution reforms and politically sensitive probes.

The decision by the Seoul Administrative Court amounts to a setback for Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who has been at odds with Yoon for months.

On Dec. 16, the ministry suspended Yoon from duty for two months due to four counts of alleged misconduct, including the surveillance of judges hearing cases involving former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and some presidential officials. President Moon Jae-in immediately endorsed the order.

“I will do my best to defend the spirit of the Constitution, the rule of law and common sense,” Yoon said, expressing his thanks for the court’s decision.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Yoon is like a cat with nine lives; he keeps surviving every attempt the Moon administration tries to get rid of him. Just a reminder to everyone that the Moon administration has been trying to take out Yoon because he had the nerve to investigate corruption within the administration.

Since Yoon Seok-youl topped polls as the preferred next President of Korea, the Korean left has gone into overdrive to destroy him:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Tuesday suspended Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from his duty, in an unprecedented move amid a feud over prosecution reforms and various investigations involving Yoon’s aide and family members.

“The ministry has been investigating various allegations against the top prosecutor and found out some serious misconduct,” the justice minister said during a briefing.

As reasons to bar him from his duty and seek disciplinary actions, the minister cited what she called an “improper” meeting with media executives, the inspection of judges involved in controversial cases and interference with the prosecution’s investigations to protect people close to him. Also she said Yoon had impeded the ministry’s lawful probe by not responding to recent written investigation inquiries. 

“As the justice minister, who has the utmost authority to oversee the prosecution, I decided that it is not tolerable to let him continue his duty,” Choo said.

Shortly after the surprise announcement, Yoon called it “unfair” and said he would take legal action.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but everyone should not forget that Yoon was appointed by President Moon and has had a falling out with the administration because he would not stop the investigations into Blue House corruption.

Ever since then they have been trying everything they can to get him to resign since he is the only person standing in the way of the Blue House completely taking over the prosecution and thus protecting their political allies.

This response from the leader of the ruling Democratic Party shows that is exactly what this is:

Following the announcement, Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the chief of the ruling Democratic Party, said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the allegations raised against the top prosecutor. Lee urged Yoon to decide his position, apparently pressuring him to step down.

Korea Times

This is the tried and true tactic of throwing allegations at someone and then using the media to trash him in hopes it is enough pressure to get him to resign. We will see if this works with Yoon or not.

This news is only going to further motivate the Korean left to destroy Yoon Seok-youl:

 Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has surpassed political heavyweights from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to rank top in the latest popularity poll of prospective presidential candidates released Wednesday.

According to a survey of 1,022 people 18 years and older by pollster Hangil Research & Consulting, 24.7 percent said they support Yoon as South Korea’s next president.

Lee Nak-yon, chairman of the Democratic Party, ranked second with 22.2 percent, while Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, also affiliated with the party, came next with an approval rate of 18.4 percent, the poll said.

It is the first time that Yoon has topped the list of prospective presidential candidates in polls.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if they will find a way to put him in jail before the election? They are already pressuring him by trying to put his wife in jail.

This is all the more reason why the ruling party is trying to take out Yoon Seok-youl, he is getting too popular with the Korean public for his anti-corruption stances:

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has become a leading prospective candidate of the opposition for the 2022 presidential election, with his favorability rate rising and exceeding other potential contenders.

Some members of the opposition parties say Yoon’s rise will help them get a fresh and strong presidential candidate. But others say Yoon’s presence is disrupting the conservative bloc as other potential candidates are not receiving attention and are being overshadowed by him. 

The legitimacy of Yoon’s candidacy for the conservatives is also in question as he has led investigations into corruption scandals involving former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.

According to a survey conducted on 1,032 adults by local pollster RnSearch from Oct. 25 to 26, Yoon had a support rate of 15.1 percent, behind two candidates of the ruling party ― Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung with 22.8 percent, and ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Nak-yon with 21.6 percent.

Although he came in third, the support for Yoon is considerably higher than those for other prospective candidates of the opposition ― Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, former head of the Liberty Korea Party, a predecessor of the current main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who gained 6.8 percent, and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the minor opposition People’s Party, at 5.8 percent.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The payback from the Korean left against former President Lee Myung-bak is now complete:

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 17-year prison sentence handed down by an appeals court for former President Lee Myung-bak on embezzlement and bribery charges.

In February, the Seoul High Court sentenced the 78-year-old to 17 years in prison, a fine of 13 billion won (US$10.9 million) and a forfeit of 5.7 billion won in a high-profile corruption case.

The former president, who governed the country from 2008-2013, was charged in April 2018 with 16 counts of criminal allegations, including embezzlement in connection with the auto parts company DAS and receiving bribes from various companies and individuals, including Samsung Electronics Co.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but President Lee after he took office had his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun investigated for corruption. Roh ended up committing suicide after the investigation disclosed the corrupt dealings of him and his family. The Korean left blamed Lee for Roh’s suicide and one of the first things after current left wing President Moon Jae-in did was to investigate Lee for corruption. Moon was the former Chief of Staff for President Roh at the time.

Anyone following the corruption allegations against Cho Kuk and his family should find none of this news surprising:

A former presidential secretary in charge of anticorruption has made a series of statements that Cho Kuk, a former justice minister and senior secretary for civil affairs in President Moon Jae-in’s administration, abused his power to shut down a probe into one of the president’s political allies.  
   
Park Hyoung-chul offered the testimony Friday during a Seoul Central District Court trial in which he and two others — Cho and Baek Won-woo, former presidential secretary for civil affairs — are all charged with abuse of power.  
   
Testifying during the seventh session of their trial, Park said that Cho had ordered him to shut down the Blue House’s audit into corruption allegations against Yoo Jae-soo, a former public servant and a political ally of Moon.    
   
Park said the December 2017 audit indicated that Yoo, who was serving as the financial policy director of the Financial Services Commission, had received bribes. Park said his office wanted to continue the investigation or send the case to the investigative authorities, such as the Board of Audit and Inspection, but Cho decided to shut it down. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but at this point with Moon’s ally Choo Mi-ae installed as the Justice Minister, Cho Kuk is now pretty much protected from being prosecuted for any crimes.

It appears that the Korean left is going all in to get Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl resign:

The gaping political rift between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl widened further Monday, as the minister accused the top prosecutor of overstepping his bounds during a parliamentary audit of the Supreme Prosecutors Office held last week.

“For the prosecutor general who must maintain political neutrality, I believe some of his statements crossed the line. As a person in the supervisory position, I’m embarrassed,” said Choo during a parliamentary audit of the justice ministry held at the National Assembly.

Last week, Choo ordered the top prosecutor to recuse himself from the investigation into the high-profile financial fraud case surrounding Lime Asset Management, citing a failure on the part of Yoon to conduct a thorough investigation into opposition politicians and prosecutors allegedly implicated in the case.

Yoon instantly accepted the order but described it as “illegal” and “absurd” during a parliamentary audit session Thursday. He also claimed that President Moon Jae-in asked him to serve out his term via an “appropriate messenger” despite pressure from the ruling bloc for him to resign.

Yonhap

The article goes on to say how the Justice Minister is expanding her attempts to go after Yoon’s wife:

The prosecution is also currently looking into allegations that Yoon’s wife was involved in manipulating stocks in Deutsch Motors and that her art exhibition company took bribes disguised as donations.

What is incredible about this whole political strife is that President Moon is the one who appointed Yoon as the Prosecutor General to be a fair arbiter of justice. That is exactly what Yoon did when he decided to prosecute Moon’s BFF Cho Kuk for the corrupt activities that him and his family were involved in.

Everything that has been happening since then has been payback to try and get Yoon to resign which he has refused to do. Remember this is not the first time the Moon administration has been willing to go after someone’s wife to get their way.