Yoon slammed for response to power abuse allegation
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading presidential contender of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), answers reporters' questions during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
By Jung Da-min
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading presidential contender of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has come under fire for his inappropriate remarks and overbearing manner while giving his account of a power abuse allegation.
It has been alleged recently that Yoon, while he was the top prosecutor ahead of the general election in April last year, ordered his aides to hand over documents to PPP lawmakers and ask them to file criminal complaints against several liberal ruling bloc figures.
At the time, Yoon was often colliding with then-Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and other ruling bloc figures as he was at odds with the Moon Jae-in government's prosecutorial reform policies.
As the scandal grew, Yoon held a press conference at the National Assembly abruptly, Wednesday, to claim his innocence against the allegations raised by an anonymous informant and first carried by Newsverse, a small internet-based news outlet.
“I felt pathetic about the political situation of the Republic of Korea that this kind of political maneuvering and agitation is being made for every election,” Yoon said during the press conference.
“I warn those who will work on similar political maneuvering in the future that they need to prepare well before doing so. I hope lawmakers who have parliamentary immunity from arrest would not hide behind some internet media or unnamed informants, but instead raise the issue through well-known major media outlets and trustworthy informants.”
But despite his intention to dismiss such allegations by directly explaining his innocence, what drew public attention and criticism was his angry and imperious demeanor during the press conference, as he was almost shouting in anger, failing to act like a prepared politician and presidential contender.
His remark about the media outlet also drew criticism from the media and other politicians, not just from the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) but also from members of the PPP, who said it showed his perception that he only recognizes some well-known news outlets ― which he mentioned as “major” media ― as producing trustworthy news and lacks respect for smaller news websites.
DPK Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil told reporters, the same day, “He only needed to explain the facts but he seemed to be threatening the people, which is not a desirable aspect of a presidential contender. If he is already threatening the people even when he is a presidential contender, I'm worried what he will do if elected as the next president.”
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, another presidential contender of the PPP, wrote on Facebook that Yoon still has a bad habit from the days when he was heading the prosecution and shouting in an authoritarian way. “Negative attacks should not be responded to in such a way. … Yoon should know that he is not the top prosecutor anymore but a politician who needs to serve the people,” Hong said.