Yoon Seok-youl, former Prosecutor General under the Moon Jae-in administration, announced that he is running in next year’s presidential election as an opposition candidate. In his announcement speech, Yoon laid out strong criticism toward President Moon Jae-in, declaring that he is “plundering the people.”
Yoon is currently the front runner among all presidential hopefuls, even though he did not announce which party he will join yet. Yoon was previously considered as a hero and a symbol of justice among leftists in South Korea for his role in indicting former President Park Geun-hye and her administration’s key officials.
Yoon, 60, held a press conference on Tuesday to declare his presidential bid, 117 days after he quit as prosecutor general to protest President Moon’s campaign to weaken the prosecution service under the name of reform.
“A few Moon loyalists have privatized power and now want to extend their rule to further plunder the people,” he said. “The administration, protected by a majority in the National Assembly and a cartel [of Moon loyalists], is powerful and has built a chain of command with no sense of responsibility or ethics.”
He said the Moon administration is trying to remove the word “liberal” from “liberal democracy,” which is the key principle of South Korea’s constitution. The ruling Democratic Party tried to amend the constitution by removing liberal from the phrase liberal democracy. The Moon administration also deleted the word liberal from the term introduced in textbooks for middle schools and high schools.
“What kind of democracy does this government really pursue?” Yoon asked. “I just cannot let them do this.”
He said he will bring back the value of fairness that defines liberal democracy and rule of law for our time and all generations. He added that it is impossible to expect fairness, liberal democracy and innovation from the Moon administration. “If the ruling party wins another presidency, it is obvious what kind of a future this country will face.”
Yoon did not clearly announce he will join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). When asked if he will join the PPP, Yoon said, “From the perspective of political philosophy, I share my beliefs with the PPP.”
When asked about whether he sees North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as a partner or a dictator, Yoon said, “There is no need to have ambiguous delusion or fantasy over a leader of a country.” He added that he sees North Korea as the enemy of the state, but cooperating in certain areas to pursue sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula is necessary.
During a press briefing, reporters asked about presidential pardons for former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. Yoon said he agrees with some arguments that they should be released from jail. “Presidential pardons are not an issue of law,” he said. “It is a political decision based on public sentiment and it is a matter to be decided by the current president.” He said he understands that Lee and Park are getting old and some people want them to be released. “I also understand that some people are concerned about the female president held in custody for a long period of time, and I can say I agree with their thoughts up to a certain point.”
When asked about a possible pardon for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Yoon said that it would be an issue of parole instead of pardon, since he served a significant part of his term.
Shortly after taking office in May 2017, Moon Jae-in handpicked Yoon to head the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office after Yoon rose as a hero for indicting Park Geun-hye. He was promoted to prosecutor general in July 2019. His relationship with the administration significantly worsened after he initiated probes of Moon’s key allies, including former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his family members.
24 lawmakers from the PPP and one independent lawmaker attended Yoon’s press briefing.
Yoon opened a Facebook account for the first time on the day of his campaign announcement. However, it was reported that his account was later shut down by Facebook. An official from Yoon’s election campaign said they were not notified of the reason for the shutdown.
Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) took the campaign kickoff as an opportunity to launch attacks on Yoon.
Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the DP, said that the announcement was “a grumble of an incompetent prosecutor.” Yoon called Moon incompetent and corrupt during the press briefing, while the floor leader said that description fit Yoon himself perfectly.
Park Joo-min, a lawmaker from the DP, said, “Yoon laid out nonsense for an hour-long press conference.”
Jung Chung-rae argued that “I do not know who wrote this speech for him, but it was simply a speech prepared by a far-rightist.
Meanwhile, leftists are again turning to populist policies as conservatives gain in popularity. The Moon administration and the DP agreed to pass the government’s 7th supplementary budget within 2 years to hand out another round of stimulus payments to 80 percent of the population based on their income. The PPP argued that they are trying to buy votes once again before the election and dividing people based on their income.
