Presidential office signals tough response to 'deceived the public' comment

Then-Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae Myung and former Minister of Health and Welfare Yu Si-min hold a talk concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during a civic cultural event marking the eighth anniversary of the death of late former President Roh Moo-hyun in May 2017. [Newsis]
Then-Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae Myung and former Minister of Health and Welfare Yu Si-min hold a talk concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during a civic cultural event marking the eighth anniversary of the death of late former President Roh Moo-hyun in May 2017. [Newsis]

Cheong Wa Dae is considering legal action against writer Yu Si-min over his criticism of President Lee Jae Myung's remarks on prosecution reform, it emerged Thursday. The move suggests the presidential office has run out of patience with Yu, who has repeatedly criticized the current administration's reform agenda and its efforts to broaden its appeal to centrist voters around the June 3 local elections.

While the consideration of legal action stems from Cheong Wa Dae's view that Yu has been distorting the president's true intentions, some observers say the development — coming amid what is already a de facto split among pro-government supporters — could mark the beginning of a broader realignment within the ruling camp.

"Cheong Wa Dae is taking seriously the fact that Yu has been misrepresenting President Lee's commitment to prosecution reform with claims that are not accurate," a ruling camp official said Thursday. "My understanding is that the presidential office is reviewing legal options."

At a press conference Friday, President Lee laid out his vision for prosecution reform. "The goal of prosecution reform is to separate investigation from indictment," he said. "The original maximum goal of prosecution reform was this: separate prosecutors who handle investigations from those who handle indictments — that is, prosecutions — so that an investigating prosecutor cannot also serve as the indicting prosecutor. And then, within the Ministry of Justice, divide the agency responsible for investigation from the agency responsible for prosecution."

He added that the reform had since advanced even further. "In fact, it has progressed beyond that. Now, prosecutors cannot conduct investigations at all. All investigative agencies also fall under the Ministry of Interior and Safety," he said.

Yu pushed back against the president's remarks. Appearing on the YouTube channel of Media Today on Wednesday, he said, "The prosecution reform that President Lee had in mind was completely different from what we thought it was, from the Democratic Party of Korea's position, and from what was described as the president's campaign pledge." He added, "The president has been deceiving the public all along."

Yu said he was particularly taken aback by the president's description of the reform's original scope. "President Lee said that the original maximum goal of prosecution reform was to divide prosecutors within the Ministry of Justice into those who investigate and those who indict. I was shocked to hear that," he said. "I had never once heard anything like that."

Cheong Wa Dae, however, believes Yu's remarks risk creating the impression that President Lee is lukewarm about separating investigation from indictment.

The presidential office's concern is that although Lee clearly articulated the principle of separating investigative and prosecutorial functions into distinct agencies, Yu's comments could lead people to misconstrue the president's goal as merely dividing investigative and indictment duties within an existing prosecutorial body such as the Prosecution Service, rather than creating entirely separate institutions.

The repeated nature of Yu's critical comments about the president on the prosecution reform issue is also seen as a factor behind the decision to explore legal options, as the presidential office appears to have concluded it can no longer let the remarks go unchallenged. In July, Yu said on the YouTube program "Maebulshow" that "the reason reform has not been achieved in over a year is that the president does not want a complete separation of investigation and indictment."

Cheong Wa Dae Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung rebuffed that claim at the time. "President Lee Jae Myung and Cheong Wa Dae have never wavered on the core value of prosecution reform — the separation of investigation and indictment," she said.


igiza77@heraldcorp.com