Yoon Suk Yeol: Investigations Directed as Prosecutor General Were Meant to Protect Moon Jae-in Government

▲ Former President Yoon Suk Yeol

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol stated in court today (Oct. 27) that the investigations he directed as prosecutor general during the Moon Jae-in administration were carried out with the belief that they would "protect the elected government."

Yoon made the remarks during a defendant interrogation at the appeal trial for his charges as the ringleader of an insurrection, held by Criminal Division 12-1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Lee Seung-chul, Cho Jin-gu, and Kim Min-ah).

When asked about his feelings when receiving his letter of appointment as prosecutor general from former President Moon Jae-in, Yoon replied, "(Former President Moon) told me during a chat to investigate even the living powers, and I was grateful for that."

He went on to explain, "I thought that prosecutors should not shake an elected government, but rather protect it by removing corruption surrounding it. When senior secretaries and others were judicially handled during the Moon Jae-in government, I thought that rather helped the government and gave the public faith that things were being done according to principles."

When his defense counsel asked about his remark upon resigning as prosecutor general in March 2021—when he stated that "the constitutional spirit and rule of law sustaining this country are being destroyed"—and what it meant, Yoon replied, "It's hard for me to comment on the current state of affairs from this standpoint, but you can say it was similar [to back then]. The majority in the National Assembly was asserting that 'democracy takes precedence over the rule of law,' and there were many such instances at that time as well."

Mentioning the exclusion of the prosecutor general's investigative command authority over the so-called "Channel A case" by then-Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, he said, "I had the thought of whether power was being privatized, and felt I could no longer stay."

This Q&A took place during a segment where the defense counsel was questioning Yoon regarding his view of the state and personal convictions.

The defense counsel also asked Yoon questions such as, "Please share any memorable dinner-table conversations with your father regarding the relationship between state power and individual freedom," "You mentioned while studying law that the constitutional system and order all stem from biblical teachings—what did you mean by that?" and "You cited Milton Friedman's 'Free to Choose' as the book that left the deepest impression on you—how did you read it?"

When the defense counsel asked, "You passed the bar exam on your eighth attempt; why did you continue to challenge yourself without giving up?" the court intervened, saying, "This is far removed from the reasons for appeal in this case, so please keep the questions and answers brief."

The defense counsel subsequently pointed out that "the special counsel's claim that the defendant destroyed constitutional order and staged a self-coup runs counter to the convictions and values the defendant has publicly expressed." In response, Yoon said, "Actions that undermine a free society must be met with the methods of a free society; responding with communist methods would mean destroying freedom ourselves."

This reiterated his previous stance that when declaring the December 3 emergency martial law, he did not actually intend to seize state agencies to maintain power, but merely sought to inform the public of the opposition party's tyranny.

Addressing questions about the background of declaring martial law, Yoon claimed, "I thought that now we really had to speak our minds politically regarding the opposition party's behavior, and that there was no other choice."

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