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Ahead of a press conference on May 9, 2024, President Yoon Suk-yeol gives his opening remarks on his first two years in office from the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul. (courtesy of the presidential office)

On Thursday, President Yoon Suk-yeol held his second press conference since his inauguration and expressed his stance on a number of proposed special prosecutors and the investigation of scandals involving his wife, Kim Keon-hee. He didn’t make any particular mention of the prosecutors’ investigation into Kim’s allegedly illegal acceptance of a designer bag, but he did pledge to veto a special counsel probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the first lady, dismissing the proposed inquiry as a “political attack.”

The president also said he would veto a bill passed by the National Assembly on May 2 for a special independent prosecutor probe into alleged obstruction of an investigation into the death of a Marine corporal surnamed Chae during a flood rescue operation last year. Yoon said it would be better to let ongoing investigations by the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials run their course before considering the appointment of a special prosecutor.

In both cases, polls indicate that public support for a special counsel probe is around 70%. But even after receiving the unprecedented public rebuke of his party’s humiliating defeat in the general elections, Yoon remains totally implacable, deaf to the majority’s demands and intent on vetoing the special probes.

Many Koreans were likely hoping that Yoon would have taken the press conference as an opportunity to demonstrate his responsibility as the nation’s leader, prioritizing fairness and common sense over the private interests of his wife and himself. Thus it’s truly disappointing that, in the end, Yoon only looked out for number one.

Yoon tried to spin the call for a special counsel probe into stock price manipulation as follows: “The previous administration had the prosecutors’ special investigations unit spend about two and a half years digging up dirt on me. I can’t help asking whether I should assume that the previous administration mishandled those investigations or went easy on me and my family.”

But Yoon made no mention of the fact that during his two years in office, the prosecution service has dilly-dallied on the first lady’s case without even calling her in for questioning. If the allegations against Kim are groundless, prosecutors should close the case without charging her.

Ironically enough, the prosecutors’ extreme vacillation is itself reason to put an independent prosecutor on the case. Yoon’s overreliance on his veto powers in defiance of good sense is why he lost the public confidence and why his party was trounced in the recent elections.

In regard to the case of the Marine’s death, there’s widespread public agreement that something needs to be done now, instead of sitting back and waiting for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to finish its work. While the CIO has made some progress, it’s simply not equipped to swiftly investigate a scandal that may involve heavyweights in the presidential office.

And while the CIO is handling the investigation, the authority to indict lies with the prosecution service. Given the distrust with which the prosecutors are held under this administration, passing the case to an independent and impartial special prosecutor is one way to ensure the public will buy the results.

When asked whether he had reprimanded his defense minister over the results of the Marine investigation into the Corporal Chae case, Yoon bizarrely said, “Soon after Corporal Chae’s death, I reprimanded him for ordering such a rash rescue operation.”

That’s more than a failure to communicate — Yoon seems to be trying to pull the wool over Koreans’ eyes. You can’t help wondering why Yoon held a press conference after a hiatus of one year and nine months if he was just going to repeat the same self-serving stories and shirk responsibility as he did yesterday.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]