Pyongyang highlighted the importance of prosecution reform just like the Democratic Party in Seoul
The article was originally published by New Daily and translated by OKN Correspondent.
North Korea’s propaganda media published an article criticizing President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon on April 30, the day that the National Assembly passed a prosecution reform bill aimed at completely abolishing the prosecution’s investigative powers except for two crimes (those related to corruption and the economy).
North Korea’s state-run website Uriminzokkiri criticized Han by saying “as critics say in public, he is the one that can build the foundation of the republic of prosecution.” It attacked Yoon by saying “President-elect Yoon is trying to destroy the prosecution reform bill and sharpen his knife for political retaliation to purge the pro-Moon Jae-in faction within the prosecution with his spite against the current president and the Democratic Party.”
Uriminzokkiri criticized Han on April 27 as well, saying, “He was against prosecution reform by joining hands with Yoon Suk-yeol inside the prosecution.” It is not yet clear why the North Korean propaganda media is focusing on criticizing President Yoon and Justice Minister nominee Han.
However, one clear fact is that North Korea emphasized the necessity and justification of “prosecution reform” several times, as much as the Democratic Party in South Korea, which even passed the bill by using so-called “salami tactics.”
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, wrote an article on October 8, 2019, arguing that “the prosecution gang in South Korea tried to curb the advancement of democratic reform forces and maintain a dictatorship under the influence and support of conservatives.”
On October 13, the newspaper said that “In South Korea, the prosecution gained notoriety as a synonym for dictatorship,” and that “it ruthlessly suppressed the people’s struggle for independence, democracy, and unification on the side of the rebellious rulers.”
On October 17, the newspaper again argued that the South Korean prosecution acts as a handmaid of the conservative party, saying, “the popular candlelight protest of the South Korean people is a strong demonstration of public sentiment to realize social justice and democracy and clean up the deep-rooted prosecution forces who served as a handmaid of the conservatives.”
On February 1, Uriminzokkiri emphasized the need for prosecution reform in an article titled, “The End Point of Frantic Behavior.”
“Recently, the South Korean Liberty Korea Party [previous name of the conservative party] and New Conservative Party have been scolding and protesting against prosecution reform, saying, that is similar to massacre or tyranny,” the article read. “The Liberty Korea Party is trying to create public sentiment as if the prosecution reform is retaliation against the prosecution.”
“The desperate opposition of the Liberty Korea Party and the new Conservative Party is self-destructive and a head-on challenge toward the people of South Korea, who are trying to liquidate the deep-rooted evils and realize social progress and democratic reform,” the article said. “The conservative party’s dirty track record, which has been used the prosecution as a means to maintain power and hide their sins, is now being revealed.”
What is noteworthy is the time when North Korean propaganda media began to emphasize the need for prosecution reform that has nothing to do with them.
It was on October 8, 2019, an article referring to the South Korean prosecution as an “object of liquidation” appeared for the first time in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
Since then, the Rodong Sinmun and Uriminzokkiri have rushed to write articles emphasizing the need for prosecution reform. Coincidently or not, this was the time when the Cultural Exchange Bureau under the Unification Front Department of the Workers’ Party delivered orders to Mr. Park and others who were involved in a civic group calling for self-unification in North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. It was reported that Mr. Park and others received orders to attract a politically mediocre faction who was in shock after the resignation of then-Justice Minister Cho Kuk. Park and other three people were indicted last September for violating the National Security Act for executing orders from North Korea to lead a civic movement against the government.
According to the Kookmin Ilbo newspaper, North Korea’s Cultural Exchange Bureau called the resignation of Justice Minister Cho Kuk “political turmoil caused by conservatives’ plan to revive conservatives, clean up candlelight public sentiment and to challenge the prosecution reform.”
“We have to publicize this situation as that if we stand by this, even the politically neutral people will suffer the damage,” the North told Park and others. “The first goal should be for progressive democratic reform forces to take control of the political situation as well as passing reform bills, including the prosecution reform bill.”
It was also reported that on October 26 of the same year, the North ordered, “With the power of the candlelight that impeached Park Geun-hye, the conservatives will be driven to the holes of destruction,” and “Let’s hold a simultaneous counter-rally to drive public sentiment toward prosecution reform.”
Park also allegedly reported back to North Korea, which requested his analysis of public sentiment in South Korea. In October 2020, Park said, “An anti-North Korea and anti-Moon attack to prevent the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials aimed at cleaning up deep-rooted evil forces will be actively carried out,” and “those deep-rooted evil forces systematically conducted a plot to overthrow the candlelight regime by taking advantage of the Moon Jae-in administration’s weakness, including the fabrication of Cho Kuk’s Black Paper, allegations of sexual harassment of [former Seoul Mayor] Park Won-soon and [former Justice Minister] Choo Mi ae’s son’s scandal during his military service.”
According to the indictment data obtained by Cho Tae-yong, a lawmaker from the conservative People Power Party, Park and others exchanged communications with North Korea about 70 times in the form of encrypted files from January 2018 to May 2021. They reportedly hid their encounter with North Korea by describing their underground civic group as a “branch office” and North Korea as its “headquarters.”
