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| Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, right, and justice minister nominee Cho Kuk sit side by side at Cheong Wa Dae on July 25. Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
A prosecutor who played a critical role in unearthing the hidden crimes of the previous Park Geun-hye government three years ago is now going after one of President Moon Jae-in's key aides.
On Tuesday morning, prosecutors carried out search and seizure raids on places linked to Cho Kuk, the justice minister nominee, who is in a bind over many allegations surrounding his family.
The move put the spotlight on Yoon Seok-yeol, 58, who has earned the respect of the left and right during his career, before becoming the prosecutor general last month.
He has a record of challenging authority, having led investigations that targeted many high-profile politicians, including the former president and former South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung.
Yoon's name made headlines in 2013 when, on national TV, he accused his superior of trying to influence his investigation into allegations that the spy agency under the Lee Myung-bak administration had meddled in the 2012 presidential election.
At the parliamentary hearing, Yoon famously said: "I have no loyalty to any person," a remark praised by liberal critics, including Cho. Yoon was later sent to the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, where he worked until the Moon government promoted him to the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in 2018.
At Cheong Wa Dae in July, Moon asked Yoon to do his job "fairly and rigorously," even if that means prosecuting his own trusted aides. Yoon will test whether the president really meant what he said.
Prosecution sources told the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, that Yoon appears to be serious about getting to the bottom of the scandal without any political considerations, saying the presidential office and Cho were surprised by the prosecution's move.
The main target is a private equity firm that Cho made suspicious investments in allegedly by using inside information while he was serving as a senior presidential secretary (May 2017-July 2019).
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party still looks suspiciously on the prosecution's move, saying it may be a coordinated "cover-up attempt" to save Cho.
"Prosecutors did not search Cho's house and offices," Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the party, said. "He may use the investigation as an excuse for refusing to answer questions from lawmakers at the upcoming confirmation hearing … For this reason, our party has no choice but to ask for an investigation by a special counsel regardless of the investigation results."
