PRESIDENT ACCEPTS RESIGNATIONS

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in promptly accepted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s resignation. He also accepted a resignation offer of Shin Hyun-soo, his senior secretary for civil affairs who had expressed his intention to leave several times.

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Cheong Wa Dae announced President Moon signed off on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s resignation about an hour after his announcement.

[Soundbite] Chung Man-ho(Senior Secretary for Public Communication) : "President Moon Jae-in has accepted the resignation offer of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. That’s it."

The unusually short statement implies the top office would not react strongly to Yoon’s resignation. As for the appointment of a new prosecutor general, a high-ranking official at Cheong Wa Dae simply said it will proceed as the law dictates. Reactions from the political parties differed drastically. The ruling Democratic Party criticized Yoon for deciding to step down after weighing political pros and cons.

[Soundbite] Heo Yeong(Democratic Party Spokesperson) : "Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who said he was not loyal to an individual, has been loyal only to the powerful institution called the Prosecutors’ Office. He has been packaging it as fairness and justice."

The opposition People Power Party described the situation as an unjust and immoral administration driving out a prosecutor general.

[Soundbite] Bae Jun-young(PPP Spokesperson) : "Once the prosecutor general handpicked by the Moon Jae-in administration steps down, the last brake that can stop the administration’s rampage would be gone."

Forty-five minutes after President Moon accepted Yoon’s resignation, Cheong Wa Dae announced the resignation of presidential senior secretary for civil affairs Shin Hyun-soo has also been accepted. Shin first offered to step down on February 22nd. He has been in office for only 63 days. The president’s latest decision indicates the administration wants to end the conflict with the prosecution and focus on the real issues concerning people’s livelihood. The new chief civil affairs secretary will be Board of Audit and Inspection committee member Kim Jin-guk, who came to know President Moon while serving as a presidential secretary for legal affairs under the Roh Moo-hyun administration.