Hope for new politics
By Park Yoon-bae
One of the most contentious issues dominating South Korea all throughout the year is the feud between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.
The feud culminated in mid-December when President Moon Jae-in approved a decision by a disciplinary committee under the Ministry of Justice to suspend Yoon from duty for two months.
However, Yoon turned the tide in his favor when a Seoul court granted him an injunction against the decision Dec. 24. He seems to be the winner for now.
The court action dealt a blow to Minister Choo who has gone too far in her drive against the top prosecutor. She leveled six counts of misdeed allegations against Yoon, including the collection of information about judges and the violation of political neutrality.
In many respects, such allegations appear to be a “bum rap.” The real reason for Choo's push for disciplinary action against Yoon can be ascribed to his relentless campaign against corrupt officials and politicians.
In July 2019 President Moon appointed Yoon as the prosecutor general in recognition of his role as a member of an independent counsel team investigating former President Park Geun-hye who was ousted from power in March 2017 over a massive corruption scandal.
Yoon also led an investigation into former President Lee Myung-bak, resulting in his indictment and conviction for bribe-taking. Back then Yoon was seen as the right person to root out “old evils” of the previous administrations.
In fact, Yoon has built a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader. But the problem is that he invited the rage of Moon by targeting the family of Cho Kuk, a close confidant of the President, who was nominated as justice minister in August 2019, over alleged admissions fraud for his daughter and his wife's dubious investment.
Yoon's only mistake was that he had done exactly what Moon told him in an appointment ceremony at the presidential office: “Investigate the incumbent political power without any limit (as long as there is corruption).” Yoon gave reassurance that he would never pledge loyalty to anyone, implying that he would wage an anti-corruption campaign against crooked officials and politicians.
Under Yoon's leadership, prosecutors have investigated close aides to President Moon over allegations of bribery, election rigging and influence peddling. They have also launched a probe of officials who allegedly manipulated the economic value of the aged Wolsong-1 reactor to shut it down earlier than planned to carry out Moon's nuclear phase-out policy.
Against this backdrop, Justice Minister Choo has waged a proxy war on behalf of the Chief Executive. Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have joined her in attacking Yoon and putting pressure on him to block the prosecution from digging up dirt on corrupt officials and politicians.
But their plot against Yoon has met a hurdle following the Seoul Administrative Court's acceptance of his request to suspend execution of the disciplinary action. The court's move must be seen as a step in the right direction, putting the brakes on the reckless and irresponsible bid to force Yoon out of his position.
Any prosecutor or government official should be subject to disciplinary proceedings if they commit misdeeds or violate the law. But it is unprecedented for the government to take disciplinary action against the top prosecutor for misdeed allegations which were not based on facts or evidence.
Simply put, Choo and pro-Moon lawmakers have stigmatized Yoon as an enemy targeting the inner circle of the political power, sharply dividing the nation between progressives and conservatives. They have accused him of violating the prosecution's political neutrality by conducting politically motivated investigations in defiance of Moon's much-avowed prosecutorial reform.
But they should realize that it is not Yoon but them who have trampled on the political neutrality and independence of the law enforcement agency. Actually, they have undermined the rule of law by trying to cover up wrongdoings committed by their colleagues and political bigwigs.
The Choo-Yoon conflict speaks volumes about Korean politics. President Moon took power by taking advantage of massive candlelit rallies which sped up the downfall of the corrupt Park government. Moon should not betray the people's hope for new politics.
Much to the dismay of the public, however, the Moon government has made the same mistakes of the incompetent and corrupt administration of former President Park. Moon has promised to usher in a fair, just and equitable society. But he has yet to keep his promise. He should no longer try to tame the prosecution in the name of prosecutorial reform.
Finally Moon apologized for causing “inconvenience and confusion” over the Choo-Yoon fight. But his apology fell short of true reflection on the incident. What he should do now is press ahead with prosecutorial reform in good faith to promote law enforcement's political neutrality and ensure the rule of law.
The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.