South Korea's labor minister expresses concern over treating president as a criminal

South Korea's Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo told reporters at the Government Complex Sejong on the 6th that the coercive attempt was made after President Yoon Seok-yeol refused to appear before investigators.
Regarding the current situation, he emphasized, "People should have basic courtesy toward the president. Treating someone who has not even been indicted as a complete criminal is far too harsh, and it is shaking public sentiment."
Kim pointed out that there are currently many members of the National Assembly who have been found guilty up until the second trial, and said, "Under the Korean Constitution, the presumption of innocence applies until a court ruling is made, so we need to treat them well."
"I am currently working hard and my salary is being paid in full," he said. At the National Assembly plenary session on December 11 last year, when opposition lawmakers demanded that he "apologise to the people", then-president Han Deok-soo
While the prime minister and other cabinet members all stood up and bowed, Kim was the only one who remained seated and did not bow, which drew attention.
"Many questions have been raised about whether warrants can be issued against the president," he said. "Legal powers are protected against ordinary citizens, but it is problematic that warrants can be issued more strictly against the president."
When asked if his position that "martial law should have been imposed" immediately after the declaration of martial law on December 5 last year remains unchanged, Kim said, "I wonder if there were some circumstances behind it."
"The president was very frustrated at the time. This situation was not normal, there were so many impeachments going on, the election had to be cleared and it was going well," he said.
"There were times when things didn't go well and things like that. I think he must have felt frustrated by these kinds of things," he said, emphasizing his feelings at the time.
Furthermore, he reportedly opposed the appointment of Choi Sang-mok, the acting president, as a constitutional judge at the Cabinet meeting on December 31 last year.
Regarding the reports, he said, "It was our intention that the Cabinet meeting should be a place where we can discuss important issues together, regardless of whether we agree or disagree." He added, "The president is the one who appointed us (the Cabinet members), so
"Therefore, there is a vertical relationship. The Prime Minister also has a somewhat vertical relationship. However, shouldn't the 'acting representative' be seen as a somewhat horizontal relationship?"
When asked if he believed the appointment of the two constitutional justices was unfair, he replied,
When asked if he would have opposed the bill if a normal discussion process had been carried out, he said, "I would have opposed it if the constitutional procedure had not been carried out normally.
"But suddenly, they're asking the acting representative and the 'acting representative' to make the appointment, so the 'acting representative' will probably wonder if it's right for them to do it," he said.
Regarding the impeachment of Prime Minister Han, he said, "Why impeach the prime minister? Wasn't the impeachment of the president done for martial law?
"The Minister did not declare martial law, so why are they impeaching the Prime Minister?" he said. In response to the suggestion that Acting Chief of Staff Choi should be in charge of the National Guard, he said, "I want to ensure that the elected president is safe and sound.
"The job of the National Guard is to protect him according to his wishes, and they shouldn't say, 'You're not the president because you've been impeached,'" he said. "Even if he's been impeached, the trial isn't over. He's clearly the sitting president."
Kim also said that on the 2nd, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong had spoken out against the cabinet members who actively supported Choi Jung-il's decision to appoint him as a constitutional judge, saying,
"It's frustrating," he said, "The idea of separating politics and economics generally sounds very reasonable," but "at a time like this, it's hard to separate politics and economics like that.
"The word 'divided' doesn't fit. It means that we can't help but think about politics," he said. "When we look at things like foreign trust, the exchange rate, and corporate investment sentiment, we can see that political influences are affecting the economy.
"It seems that the role of the president is bigger than the economic one," he said, emphasizing, "It is not right to say that we should only make economic decisions without considering politics."
"The number one priority is the economy, not the economy," he said. Finally, in response to a public opinion poll showing Kim as the ruling People Power Party's next presidential candidate alongside former party leader Han Dong-hoon,
Regarding this, he said, "I feel very sorry about this. He never said he would get involved in politics, and the Minister of Employment and Labor is ranked 16th (among the State Councillors) and has no political status at all. I don't understand why such a person would be in such a position.
"I'm disappointed that I'm suddenly appearing in the presidential candidate approval ratings."
He said.