Former prosecutor-general Yoon Seok-youl declares presidential bid

Jun 30, 2021, 09:04 am

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Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl enters into the memorial hall for Yun Bong-gil, a national independence activist, in southern Seoul, to announce his presidential bid on June 29, 2021./ Photographed by Song Ui-joo (songuijoo@)

AsiaToday reporter Jo Jae-hak

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl on Tuesday officially announced his bid to compete in the presidential race next year, 118 days after stepping down from the top prosecutorial post. He hinted at his interest in joining the primary elections of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), saying he agrees with the PPP’s political philosophy.

“I dare to tell the people that I am fully ready to devote everything and dedicate myself for the people and the future of this nation,” said Yoon at Maeheon Yun Bong-gil Memorial Hall, which commemorates the latest independence activist. “I promise to do this properly, jointly with everyone who desires regime change.”

“Since the resignation from the public post, I have met many people. All of them were worried about the future of the nation. They said a nation should not be like this. Yoon Seok-youl will be with them. I will start from the common sense of the great people, who made the Republic of Korea of today with industrialization and democratization,” he said.

Yoon criticized the incumbent administration’s major policies, such as income-led growth and nuclear phase-out policy. “The income-led growth policy ignores economic common sense, the housing policy fights against the market, and the nuclear phase-out policy ignores laws and kills world-class technology,” he said. “It is hard to articulate every misdeed that this administration has committed,” he added.

Yoon emphasized that he entered the presidential race with the desperate need to change the regime. “Even after the resignation, the people understood the inevitability of resignation and gave me constant support,” he said. “They meant that I should devote myself and take the lead in replacing the regime so that the political force that destroys fairness and common sense and denies freedom and the rule of law, does not extend their power and put the people under suffering.”

“This government, which is escorted by a majority of seats and privileged cartel, is powerful,” he said. “All those who share the same idea that the country should be normalized through regime change need to join forces.”

He vowed to restore the values of fairness and common sense to make a country where neither the older or younger generation gets angry. “I will surely create a dynamic nation where young people can run freely, an innovative nation that promotes freedom and creativity, a nation where the weak are not discouraged, and a nation that shares values with the international community and fulfills its responsibilities.”

Meanwhile, Yoon greeted some PPP lawmakers ahead of the press conference, including Kwon Sun-dong, Jung Jin-seok, Yoo Sang-beom, Yoon Joo-kyung, Tae Young-ho, Yoon Chang-hyun, Goo Ja-geun, Ji Sung-ho, and Ahn Byung-gil. “I will do my best to rebuild the broken country together with the lawmakers and the people,” Yoon said during the press conference.

Yoon studied law at Seoul National University and became a state prosecutor in 1994, when he was 34 years old. President Moon Jae-in appointed Yoon as the prosecution chief in recognition of his anti-corruption investigations, particularly into former President Park Geun-hye. However, he later clashed with the Moon government’s justice ministers and ruling party lawmakers over a series of prosecution probes targeting key ruling bloc figures, as well as its prosecution reform drive that seeks to dramatically weaken the prosecution’s investigative powers. He resigned in March 4. Since then, he has been touted as the top presidential candidate for the opposition bloc, with much support from those critical of President Moon and the ruling Democratic Party.

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