People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-young criticized Lee Jae-myung's government's "Constitution-respecting government innovation TF (task force)," saying it is "holding 1.1 million public officials hostage and shaking Korea," calling it "blatant politics of fear."
Park held a press conference at the National Assembly briefing room on the 13th and said, "The fear politics of Lee Jae-myung's government is going too far. It announced it would investigate all public officials at 49 central administrative agencies to identify whether they took part in the illegal acts of the Dec. 3 martial law and root them out," adding, "Dissatisfied with the illegal special counsel probe, it is trying to treat civil servants as 'potential criminals' and ransack them in a fishing expedition."
Park noted, "They are looking not only into work PCs and documents but even cellphones containing private lives, and say they are considering personnel measures and referring cases for investigation if there is no cooperation. They are even creating a tip-off center to report colleagues," pointing out it is a "clear human rights violation."
Park criticized, "Even if they push 1.1 million public officials as potential criminals and stage a 'purge show,' there is no way President Lee Jae-myung's legal risk will disappear," adding, "The Lee Jae-myung administration is showing anti-constitutional behavior by intimidating career civil servants to eliminate its own legal risk and maintain a dictatorship."
Choi Eun-seok, the People Power Party's senior deputy floor spokesperson, also issued a commentary, saying, "The lawless sword dance of the Democratic Party administration is now directed at the entire public sector," and, "There are reports that even public officials' personal mobile phones have been included among those surveyed. This is effectively the prelude to Communist-style politics of fear."
Choi, the senior deputy floor spokesperson, emphasized, "If public officials are required to submit their mobile phones and, if they refuse, measures such as standby duty, suspension from position, or referring cases for investigation are reviewed, that is by no means 'voluntary cooperation' but in effect a coercive investigation and a clear illegal surveillance," adding, "Lee Jae-myung's government must immediately stop attempts to turn the public sector into a subordinate of power."