Choi Jinnyeong: "Probe into Im Eunjeong Is President's Curveball Aimed at Choo Mi-ae and Party Hardliners"

Im Eunjeong defied the organization and fought on social media throughout her career as a prosecutor

Promoted as “courage,” then called “politics” and investigated when her sights shifted

An admission that the standard was not the act, but t

Attorney Choi Jinnyeong, a conservative YouTuber and political commentator, said that the order to investigate Im Eunjeong, chief of the Gwangju Regional Serious Crime Investigation Office, for calling for the withdrawal of Kim Jiyong's nomination as the first chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency was a changeup thrown by President Lee Jae-myung at those who have opposed Kim's appointment, including Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae and hardliners within the party.

Choi said President Lee could not throw the ball at powerful hitters such as Governor Choo, so he chose Im, a batter he could hit without repercussions. He also pointed out that the president's government had promoted Im after calling her defiance of the prosecution organization while she was a prosecutor "courage," but now that her fire was aimed at someone he had chosen, it had become "politics." This, Choi said, was an admission that "the standard was not the conduct but the target."

A screenshot of attorney Choi Jinnyeong's Facebook post.

Choi made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the afternoon of October 11, alongside a screenshot of a related article, after Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Hojung ordered an investigation into Im.

In a post titled "Lee Jae-myung's (counter)attack! Is a fastball next after the changeup?" he wrote, "Im Eunjeong, the first chief of the Gwangju Serious Crime Investigation Agency, can be summed up in one line: She did not follow the organization's rules and made that fact known to the world."

He cited cases from Im's time as a prosecutor, including when she rejected her superiors' policy of making a "blank sentencing recommendation" and instead sought an acquittal, for which she was disciplined before having the disciplinary action overturned in court. He also mentioned her post accusing former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol of obstructing an investigation into a case involving former Prime Minister Han Myeongsook.

"Her weapons from the beginning were the internal network and Facebook," Choi wrote. "The Lee Jae-myung government decorated those weapons with a medal." Choi said that appointing Im, then a senior prosecutor, as head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office was "giving her the 'flower of the prosecution' after she had been relegated to the sidelines under the Yoon Suk Yeol government."

"But then the gun barrel changed direction. On October 5, Im wrote of Kim Jiyong, the candidate to head the Serious Crime Investigation Agency whom the president had personally defended, that 'someone who should serve as a cautionary example must not be the first,'" he wrote. "Six days later, on October 11, Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Hojung ordered an investigation into her."

Choi wrote, "The inconsistency is clear. Im Eunjeong has not changed. Publicly defying the organization's decisions and fighting on social media is what she has done throughout her career as a prosecutor."

He continued, "This government called that conduct 'courage' and promoted her. When her fire was aimed at Yoon Suk Yeol, it was reform; when it was aimed at someone chosen by Lee Jae-myung, it became politics. That is an admission that the standard was not the conduct but the target."

A screenshot from the Facebook page of Im Eunjeong, chief of the Gwangju Regional Serious Crime Investigation Office.

Choi said Minister Yoon's order to investigate Im was a changeup from President Lee aimed at hardliners within the Democratic Party of Korea, including Governor Choo Mi-ae and Assemblyman Kim Yong-min, who had strongly opposed Kim's nomination.

"What's more noteworthy is the route the investigation took. Im Eunjeong was not at the forefront of opposition to Kim Jiyong. That was Governor Choo Mi-ae, who posted opposition seven times, and the party's hardliners," he wrote. "The president posted on X on October 9 that people who lacked the ability were demanding high-ranking positions and, when things did not go their way, attacking the party from within under the banner of radical reform. The target was clear, but no names were mentioned."

He continued, "Two days later, the investigation order landed not on a governor or a lawmaker, but on a local chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. It was a pitch thrown by a minister appointed by the president, using the authority to direct and supervise under Article 6 of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency Act. He could not throw the ball at powerful hitters, so he chose one he could hit without repercussions. Someone else should be the one flinching at that pitch. It is a classic changeup."

At the end of his post, Choi wrote, "A changeup works once or twice. But once the batter starts reading it, he will get hit. If Governor Choo Mi-ae posts an eighth time, or if the hardliners rebel at the confirmation hearing, what will the president throw? Will he find another 'Im Eunjeong' and bend the ball again? Or will he finally fire a fastball at the real batter in the box?" He expressed interest in President Lee's next move.

He concluded, "The confirmation hearing for Kim Jiyong on October 14 is the next inning. The pitcher's next throw from the mound will be fascinating."

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on October 11, Minister Yoon said, "(Im) seems to be mistaking the Serious Crime Investigation Agency for a political body rather than an investigative one," adding, "I will instruct the agency to launch an investigation." On his way to work on October 12, he said, "I ordered an investigation into whether this was a political act carried out using her position."

Shortly after the order to investigate her became public on October 11, Im posted on Facebook alongside a screenshot of Minister Yoon's post on X, saying, "It is deeply regrettable and saddening that I have become the first subject of an investigation by the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. I will do my best to respond with a sense of duty." On her way to work on October 12, she avoided reporters and went to her office through the underground parking garage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.