Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the opposition People Power Party (PPP) has provoked criticism for urging Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo to make decisions on his future before his term ends in May next year. Kweon, one of close aides to President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, was apparently trying to put pressure on Kim to step down voluntarily before the new government is installed May 10.
On Tuesday, Kweon said on an MBC radio show that it has come to the point where Kim may be faced with the need to make decisions on his course of action going forward. He made the case for Kim's resignation, saying that the prosecution under his leadership has made little progress in getting to the bottom of a corruption scandal involving a land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The real estate scandal was one of the hot-button issues raised by Yoon and the PPP in the lead-up to the March 9 presidential election to attack Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Lee, former Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi Province governor, has faced allegations about his implication in the scandal. Lawmakers of the PPP and other opposition parties have criticized the prosecution for neglecting its investigation of the case to protect Lee.
However, it is wrong for anyone to call on the prosecutor general to step down against his will. The country enacted a law in 1988 to guarantee a two-year term for the prosecution chief to promote the law enforcement body's political neutrality and independence. But only eight out of 22 prosecutors general have managed to finish their full term, while nearly two-thirds were forced to step down due to pressure from above.
President-elect Yoon, a former prosecutor general and predecessor of Kim, knows this better than anyone else. President Moon Jae-in appointed Yoon to lead the prosecution in July 2019 in recognition of his anti-corruption drive. But he lost favor with Moon because he launched an investigation into corruption allegations involving Cho Kuk, one of the President's close confidants and his pick for justice minister, and his family. As a result, Yoon came under strong pressure to step down. This led to Yoon's presidential ambitions. At last he quit his job without completing his term in March 2021 to run for president.
Despite his inappropriate remarks, Rep. Kweon said that Yoon would not put any pressure on the incumbent prosecutor general to resign. We want to take his word for it. Yoon should not dare to do anything, like what President Moon has done, to tame the prosecution or undermine its independence and neutrality. Nor should he try to turn the country into a “Republic of Prosecutors” to purge his political enemies. It is time to end the ugly legacy of political revenge and move forward toward national unity and “cooperative politics.” We hope Yoon will keep his promise to restore the rule of law ― a key element of democracy.