President demands an apology from candidate Yoon
![In this file photo, President Moon Jae-in, left, and Yoon Suk-yeol, prosecutor general, walk together in the Blue House after Moon awarded an appointment letter to him on July 25, 2019. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/02/10/6e531796-5b4c-4ed3-8f8f-9ccf5f021098.jpg)
In this file photo, President Moon Jae-in, left, and Yoon Suk-yeol, prosecutor general, walk together in the Blue House after Moon awarded an appointment letter to him on July 25, 2019. [YONHAP]
"I am extremely furious that Yoon labeled the current government a target of investigation without any grounds," Moon was quoted as saying Thursday by Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication.
"I demand an apology."
Yoon, the People Power Party (PPP)'s presidential candidate, was hand-picked by Moon to be prosecutor-general and spearheaded investigations into former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak as part of Moon's "eradicating past evils" campaign. He resigned as top prosecutor in March 2021, protesting Moon's campaign to weaken the state prosecution service.
"Is Yoon saying that he turned a blind eye to this government's irregularities when he was serving as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and as prosecutor general? Or is he saying he will fabricate charges?" Moon was quoted as saying.
"Yoon must answer my question."
After becoming an icon of resistance to the Moon administration, Yoon joined the conservative opposition PPP in July and won its presidential nomination in November.
Moon's demand for an apology was a response to an interview with Yoon published by the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday. Asked if he would probe the Moon administration if he won the presidency, Yoon said, "Yes. Yes. Of course, there will be an investigation."
Yoon stressed that the probe wouldn't be personal, but a legitimate action under the criminal justice system. He criticized the ruling party and Moon's administration for defending their own investigations of Moon's predecessors while arguing that any investigation of them by Moon's successor would be a political vendetta.
"The current administration used the prosecution and committed many crimes," Yoon also said. "It must be held accountable."
It Is rare for a sitting president to condemn a presidential candidate less than a month before an election. Until now, Moon has stressed his neutrality and refrained from any comments deemed political.
After Yoon's remarks were published, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the Blue House excoriated Yoon. After a top presidential aide called Yoon's remarks "extremely inappropriate and disturbing" Wednesday morning, DP leaders held five press conferences later in the day saying Yoon had overtly declared an intention to carry out a political vendetta.
"It sounds like a promise for political retaliation. I am very shocked," the DP's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday.
Yoon on Thursday dismissed Moon’s demand for an apology, stressing that he will not conduct a political vendetta. “When I am elected, I will not take part in any investigations,” Yoon said in a meeting with reporters Thursday afternoon.
He said he and Moon have the same idea of what a fair investigation is.
“President Moon has always stressed the importance of investigating suspicions based on the law and principles without any exception,” Yoon said. “I also have always said abuse of power and corruption must be investigated by the law and principles under a fair criminal justice system.”
Following Moon's demand for Yoon's apology, the PPP cried foul. "It is a clear attempt to intervene in the election," Chairman Lee Jun-seok of the PPP said in a Facebook post.
Lee said Yoon had conducted fair investigations into all suspects as a prosecutor, regardless of their political affiliations.
Rep. Lee Yang-soo, spokesman for Yoon's campaign, expressed regret that Moon had improperly intervened in the election. "Yoon was just stressing his principle for a fair investigation based on the prosecution's political neutrality, law and principles and the criminal justice system," he said. "The DP first tried to distort his remarks, and now the Blue House and the president are joining the offensive."
It remains to be seen the confrontation between Yoon and Moon will actually affect the nail-biter of an election. In the latest poll announced Thursday, the DP's Lee and PPP's Yoon were tied. According to a joint survey by four polling companies including Korea Research conducted from Monday till Wednesday, Lee and Yoon each scored 35 percent.
Compared to a poll conducted two weeks ago, Lee's score remained unchanged, while Yoon's rating went up by 1 percentage point.
Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party scored 9 percent, and the Justice Party's Sim Sang-jeung scored 4 percent in the poll. (More details are available at the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.)
BY SER MYO-JA [ser.myoja@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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