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Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl (Hankyoreh photo archives)

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl harshly criticized the ruling Democratic Party’s push to establish a new agency investigating serious crimes, which he said would “destroy the rule of law under the guise of ‘democracy.’”

With Yoon himself attempting to win public support with a message representing front-line prosecutors’ objections to the separation of investigation and indictment authority, many are now watching to see whether the situation escalates into an all-out battle with the Blue House and the ruling party.

In an interview published yesterday in the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper, Yoon said the Democratic Party’s establishment of a serious crime investigation agency would “provide extraterritorial authority to powerful individuals in politics, the economy and society.”

“This is a regression of democracy that destroys the spirit of the Constitution,” he added.

He went on to ask, “How are you supposed to respond to something that’s being done out of dislike for the prosecutors and the prosecutor general?”

“If I have to put my job on the line to stop this, I would put it on the line 100 times,” he said.

Yoon also insisted that the ruling party’s ideas for separating investigation and indictment powers were a far cry from prosecutorial reform.

“If investigations and indictments are separated, that leaves us unable to respond sternly to violations by the socially powerful and vested interests,” he insisted.

In a statement released the same afternoon, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (SPO) said Yoon’s interview “clearly shared a position of concern and opposition toward legislative activities premised upon the full-scale abolition of the prosecutors’ authority to investigate serious crimes directly.”

Prosecutors generally voiced support for the views shared by Yoon in his overt campaign targeting public opinion, although some shared concerns that his full-bore tactics are “not helpful in resolving practical issues.”

“This is a serious matter that’s a different kettle of fish from the disciplinary action against him as prosecutor general,” said one deputy chief prosecutor in the greater Seoul area.

“Most of us are taking the legislation’s content very seriously as something that amounts to a discontinuation of our organization,” they added.

Another chief prosecutor said, “The prosecutors have had their missteps in the past, but we’ve also worked hard to uphold basic rights based on 70 years of investigation acumen.”

“Who bears the responsibility if we only get to indict and the verdict comes up not guilty? They’re killing the state system,” they said.

The director of one prosecutors’ office outside the greater Seoul area said, “Prosecutors are tired from this rapid push for prosecutorial reforms, and they’re angry about the institution of this investigation agency, but there’s also a strong sense that the [ruling party] politicians aren’t going to listen to what we have to say anyway.”

Other prosecutors shared their discomfort with Yoon waging an all-out onslaught under the guise of an interview. One prosecutor formerly employed by a high public prosecutors’ office said, “He admitted in his own interview that he himself was largely responsible for the ruling party adopting these kinds of speed tactics.”

“Regardless of whether the ruling party is in the right or not, the prosecutor general should have seen this coming. It comes across as kind of irresponsible for him to start acting this way now as leader of the organization,” they added.

A chief prosecutor working outside the greater Seoul area said, “We need to win over the National Assembly’s support, but Yoon himself has become a huge barrier to that.”

“Rather than ‘hitting back’ through his interview, it would have been more persuasive for him to have said, ‘This is just too important an issue for the public, so I’m going to step down, and I just want you to listen to what the prosecutors are saying,’” they suggested.

The interview yesterday is being seen as just the start of an organized response by the prosecutors going forward. The SPO planned to announce its position as early as today once it finished gathering feedback from front-line prosecutors. Yoon also appeared likely to speak publicly about the matter during visits to the Daegu high prosecutors’ office and district prosecutors’ office the same day.

Both the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Democratic Party have opted to manage the situation rather than going after Yoon. Meeting with reporters at the Gwacheon Government Complex yesterday, Minister of Justice Park Beom-kye said, “I’m well aware of the prosecutors’ concerns. We need to hear a variety of opinions from the organization’s members.”

“I’m always open, and I would like to meet with [Yoon],” he added.

Lawmaker Yun Ho-jung, who chairs the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also tempered his remarks somewhat, saying he planned to “really talk to the prosecutors and help them understand.”

The Blue House, which had called for the use of speed tactics early on, bristled at the objections expressed in Yoon’s interview.

“The prosecutors need to respect the National Assembly and express their views calmly according to the prescribed prosecutors,” a senior Blue House official said.

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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