Yoon hits back at opposition protest over attempted raid
President Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the presidential office in Seoul, Oct. 20. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk-yeol hit back at the main opposition party on Thursday over allegations his administration masterminded the prosecution's attempted raid of its headquarters, saying the people will be the judge of whether such claims are justified.
Prosecutors swooped down on the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday as part of an investigation into whether a close aide to DPK leader Lee Jae-myung took illegal political funds but withdrew after a standoff with party officials.
The DPK has denounced the investigation and other investigations into members of the previous Moon Jae-in administration as a political reprisal and an attempt to suppress the opposition party.
"As far as investigations are concerned, I only know what I see in press reports, and as far as the details, I'm not free enough to look into investigation details," Yoon told reporters as he arrived for work.
"But if there is talk about suppressing the opposition party, if we think about raids conducted for days into news companies when the current opposition party was the ruling party, I think the people will be well aware of whether such talk is really justified," he added.
Yoon also said his comments the previous day on North Korea sympathizers were not targeted at anyone in particular.
He had said it was impossible to work together with members of the Jusa faction, or activists espousing the Juche principle of self-reliance promoted by late North Korea founder Kim Il-sung.
"Whether one belongs to the Jusa faction or not is something the person in question should know well," Yoon said when asked about claims that he was targeting members of the opposition party.
"My remarks were not targeted at anyone in particular," he said. "A president has the Constitutional responsibility to defend the Constitution and protect the nation, so when the subject came up, that's how I responded." (Yonhap)