Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek: "Unreasonable Disciplinary Action Against Prosecutor Park Sang-yong to Save Face for Ruling Party... Hard to Sympathize with Ahn Cheol-soo's Criticism"

- Additional discipline for Park Sang-yong? Introduced after 'salmon drinking party' claims were disproved
- Disciplining over minor issues like SNS posts... Putting the cart before the horse
- Attending a specific party's hearing as grounds for discipline? Disrespecting the National Assembly
- Ruling party trying to claim fabricated prosecution by tarnishing Park's reputation
- Pro-ruling party prosecutor also posted support on SNS... Lacks fairness
- Denying request to postpone inspection? Rushing it as if watching the president's mood
- Kim Min-seok demanding cancellation of fabricated indictments? Making unreasonable moves in a tight party convention
- If ruling party leader mentions dropping charges against president, lame-duck status begins immediately
- Han Dong-hoon attending PPP Busan chapter forum? I think it was a good move
- Objections were raised in group chat, but it didn't escalate to a full debate
- Ahn Cheol-soo's criticism of 'reinstatement activists'? Deep emotional rift toward Han Dong-hoon

■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Politics Show (FM 103.5MHz 7:00 – 9:00 AM)
■ Date: August 13, 2026 (Thu)
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek (People Power Party)

[Kim Tae-hyun] The Ministry of Justice has begun reviewing additional disciplinary action against Prosecutor Park Sang-yong. Strong voices of criticism are emerging from the People Power Party regarding the grounds for this disciplinary action. We will discuss this with Representative Kwak Kyu-taek of the People Power Party. Hello, Assemblyman.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Hello, I am Kwak Kyu-taek.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Assemblyman, I hear that the Ministry of Justice Inspection Committee is reviewing disciplinary action against Prosecutor Park Sang-yong. Looking at the additional grounds, they include posting on SNS during work hours and attending a specific political party's hearing without reporting it. That specific political party would be the People Power Party, right?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] That's right.

[Kim Tae-hyun] How do you view this? Do you think these serve as appropriate grounds for disciplinary action?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] The public is likely well aware of the disciplinary issue concerning Prosecutor Park Sang-yong. It started with the nonsensical claim of a so-called "salmon and alcohol party" made by former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young. For nearly a year and a half, the Democratic Party made immense efforts to manufacture that nonexistent salmon drinking party by pushing for impeachment and holding hearings.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] But in the end, through various verification processes in the National Assembly, it has now been revealed that no such salmon drinking party ever took place. In fact, the Ministry of Justice's disciplinary proceedings against Prosecutor Park also began under the premise of this salmon drinking party. But now all of that has vanished, and they are seeking discipline over such minor issues as posting on social media during work hours. So it clearly shows that they are putting the cart before the horse.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Assemblyman, regarding the salmon drinking party, there was a perjury trial involving former Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] That's right.

[Kim Tae-hyun] In the first instance, the jury trial resulted in a guilty verdict for perjury.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Indeed.

[Kim Tae-hyun] That means the jury concluded that the salmon drinking party did not happen.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Precisely. Judging by common sense, they concluded that it was an absurd claim.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Of course, the appellate and Supreme Court appeals remain. But has Prosecutor Park been cleared of disciplinary action regarding the so-called salmon drinking party allegations, or is it still included?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Looking at the Ministry of Justice's announcements regarding the intended discipline, all those allegations have been excluded. As mentioned, it's now about posting on SNS during work hours. But honestly, was Prosecutor Park Sang-yong the only prosecutor to post on social media during work hours?

[Kim Tae-hyun] There was a certain chief prosecutor.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Exactly. And having a Q&A session in a hearing format organized by a lawmaker in the National Assembly, and then seeking to discipline him on the grounds that it was a hearing by a specific political party—that is a complete disregard for the National Assembly. There are also minor issues like incomplete paperwork. I would say these have nothing to do with the original grounds when the disciplinary process against Prosecutor Park was initiated. Even now, I want to say that the Ministry of Justice should not pursue such unreasonable discipline.

[Kim Tae-hyun] So in plain terms, you are saying they are adding minor issues to discipline Prosecutor Park in order to target and push him out.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Right. They are trying to tarnish his reputation. The reason they are persistently targeting Prosecutor Park Sang-yong is that the Democratic Party wants to unilaterally claim that it was a fabricated indictment—referring to the case where former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young was found guilty. However, President Lee Jae Myung has been indicted as an accomplice in that case, and his trial is currently suspended.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] So during his term, the Democratic Party wants to reach the conclusion by any means necessary that the guilty ruling against Vice Governor Lee resulted from a flawed prosecution. But since that is not working out, they feel they must catch something—anything—to conclude the disciplinary process they already started against the prosecutor, just to save a bit of face. That is why they seem to be pushing forward with this unreasonable disciplinary process.

[Kim Tae-hyun] So you mean they want to claim the investigation itself was problematic, but since that isn't working, their goal is to argue that the investigator himself is somehow flawed, regardless of the reason?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Exactly.

[Kim Tae-hyun] I see. When Prosecutor Park was suspended from his duties back in April, you raised an issue of fairness, stating that if Prosecutor Park's actions were problematic, other politically biased prosecutors should be suspended as well.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Yes.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Do you view this current disciplinary attempt by the Ministry of Justice as violating that same sense of fairness?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Of course it violates fairness. In the past, pro-ruling party prosecutors leaning toward the current ruling party, the Democratic Party, went so far as to post something akin to political declarations of support on SNS, which should never be done.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] There are such cases as well.

[Kim Tae-hyun] You are referring to a certain chief prosecutor, right?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Yes. And in the case of another chief prosecutor, they posted politically biased SNS posts countless times.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Comparing those cases to this one, Prosecutor Park Sang-yong merely posted to refute unreasonable and groundless claims made by the opposing side regarding a case he indicted. Disciplining him for that is unacceptable. So even if there may have been pressure from the ruling party or the government, I believe the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office would be better off canceling such unreasonable disciplinary proceedings right now.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Prosecutor Park requested to postpone the date after receiving a summons to appear before the Ministry of Justice Inspection Committee, but the Ministry denied it. How do you view this decision?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] He asked to postpone it by about a week to prepare explanations and gather documents, but they rejected even that, as if in a rush. It seems the Ministry of Justice and Supreme Prosecutors' Office are walking on eggshells around the president, and with the ruling party currently holding its national convention, they are rushing the discipline hastily while minding those optics. However, I believe the public now recognizes that Prosecutor Park's words are credible and that attempting to discipline him is truly unreasonable.

[Kim Tae-hyun] I see. The ruling party is currently holding its national convention, and candidate Kim Min-seok stated, "As a matter of principle, fabricated indictments must be canceled."

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Yes.

[Kim Tae-hyun] If candidate Kim Min-seok becomes the new leader of the Democratic Party and forms a leadership team, do you think they will attempt to drop the charges?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] First of all, regarding candidate Kim Min-seok: since he is in a neck-and-neck race at the national convention, he seems to be making statements that defy common sense and cross the line. First off, there is no such thing as a fabricated indictment. In all the cases claimed to be fabricated, no evidence of fabrication has ever been confirmed. Yet he speaks as if the indictment were fabricated, and goes so far as to talk about dropping charges against the president. The moment the ruling party leader demands that charges against the president be dropped, while I believe a lame-duck phase has already begun to some extent, a fatal lame-duck period will begin for President Lee Jae Myung.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. Assemblyman, your constituency is Seo-gu, Busan, right?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] It is Seo-gu and Dong-gu.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Seo-gu and Dong-gu. So I feel I should ask you about this: a short while ago, the Busan chapter of the People Power Party held a forum titled something like "Strategy for Attracting the 2nd Relocation of Public Agencies to Busan." Most People Power Party lawmakers attended, except for about three, and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon also attended. How were you informed of Representative Han Dong-hoon's attendance?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] It wasn't a matter of being notified. The forum was held at the National Assembly that day, and all 17 People Power Party lawmakers representing Busan constituencies jointly organized it. It was an important occasion to discuss why Busan is the most advantageous candidate for the second public agency relocation. So Representative Han Dong-hoon, who was elected as an independent but is a Busan lawmaker, attended, though he wasn't a co-organizer. You can consider almost all lawmakers from the Busan region to have attended.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Even though Representative Han Dong-hoon is currently an independent, he represents a Busan constituency, so it is natural for him to take an interest in these issues and align with our People Power Party lawmakers. I think that's only natural, and I believe it was good that he attended the forum that day.

[Kim Tae-hyun] However, yesterday Representative Joo Jin-woo criticized the move on his YouTube channel, saying, "As a party event, the principle is that only lawmakers from our party attend. Representative Lee Seong-kweon invited Representative Han Dong-hoon arbitrarily, which is problematic." How do you view this?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] I am not entirely sure in what spirit Representative Joo Jin-woo posted that. But there are two types of forums held at the National Assembly. Forums centered around a specific party's policies are usually attended by lawmakers belonging to that party. However, for forums dealing with regional development directions or local issues, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties in that region sometimes participate together. Since this was that kind of forum, I think it would have been appropriate even if a Democratic Party lawmaker had attended—if there were a Democratic Party lawmaker in Busan, that is.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] But as an independent lawmaker who shares a constituency in our Busan region, I think it was entirely natural for him to attend. I don't know whether he was specifically invited or not. But since this forum was widely publicized in the media, Representative Han Dong-hoon might have found out and attended on his own initiative.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Representative Lee Seong-kweon did mention that he invited him. But according to Representative Joo Jin-woo, someone in the Busan PPP lawmakers' group chat protested and expressed opposition. Were there actually such moves?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] About one person raised an objection beforehand.

[Kim Tae-hyun] One person? I see.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] It seems there were media reports indicating Representative Han Dong-hoon would attend. So the objection was about whether another issue might overshadow the main topic of relocating public agencies to Busan, and that when organizing such an event, shouldn't there have been prior consultation with other co-organizing lawmakers? That was the concern raised.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] But it was not a case of a full debate taking place over his attendance itself.

[Kim Tae-hyun] I see. Assemblyman, let me address one more internal party issue. Yesterday, Representative Ahn Cheol-soo held a sudden press conference and said, "A faction of 'reinstatement activists' demanding reinstatement for a specific individual is turning the party into a mess. They should be excluded from nominations in the next general election."

[Kwak Kyu-taek] (Laughter)

[Kim Tae-hyun] You are laughing as you hear this. How do you view Representative Ahn's claim?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] I really like Representative Ahn Cheol-soo. I like him and view him as a very valuable asset to our party, and he is also a senior figure from my region.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Indeed.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] I don't know exactly who he means by the "reinstatement activist" faction, but based on the general context of his remarks, he seems to be referring to so-called pro-Han (pro-Han Dong-hoon) lawmakers. While some of them might be facing disciplinary review, I don't think they are turning the party into a mess.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Of course, it seems a deep emotional rift developed between Representative Ahn Cheol-soo and Representative Han Dong-hoon over the quota increase (medical school quota) issue in the past. Under the current circumstances, the nuance of his statements seems somewhat difficult to garner sympathy for.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Then how do you think the issue of reinstatement should be resolved?

[Kwak Kyu-taek] As time passes, I believe natural public opinion and the consensus of People Power Party supporters will gather. So rather than prematurely forcing a reinstatement attempt, expanding points of contact—such as attending forums like this—will allow natural evaluations from both inside and outside the party. So I think it would be fine to take our time and view it with some patience.

[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. We will conclude today's interview here. That was Representative Kwak Kyu-taek of the People Power Party. Thank you.

[Kwak Kyu-taek] Thank you.

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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.