Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon: "It's not true that I bypassed Yoon Seok-yeol and reported to Chu Mi-ae"

Lee Seong-yoon, the newly appointed Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is attending the inauguration ceremony held at the Central District Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Regarding the controversy that Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, bypassed Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and directly reported to Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, he stated, "This is not true."

On the 25th, Chief Prosecutor Lee and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a rebuttal, saying, "The report by some media yesterday claiming that the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office bypassed the Prosecutor General or withdrew the report during the prosecutorial reporting process is not true."

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "Around 9:30 a.m. on the 23rd, the investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted Secretary Choi Kang-wook without the approval or authorization of the head prosecutor. On the same day, the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office reported the progress of the case to the Minister of Justice, who is the highest supervisor of prosecutorial affairs under the Prosecutors' Office Act."

They added, "The content of the report was an incident that occurred between the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and it was a matter that had to be reported to the Minister of Justice. Since the Prosecutor General was already well aware of most of the facts, the report was made first to the Minister of Justice in accordance with Article 2 of the Prosecutorial Reporting Regulations."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Furthermore, "After reporting to the Ministry of Justice, the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office intended to submit and report the materials to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Situation Room according to the Prosecutorial Reporting Regulations. However, it was judged more appropriate to report through a senior official at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office rather than leaving an important report in the Situation Room, so the materials were withdrawn and it was decided to report following proper procedures later. On the 24th, the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office delivered the reporting materials regarding the Prosecutor General to the Deputy Director of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Planning Department, thereby fulfilling the reporting procedures according to the Prosecutorial Reporting Regulations," they explained.

Chief Prosecutor Lee has been embroiled in controversy for reporting directly to Minister Chu without going through Prosecutor General Yoon after indicting Secretary Choi on the 23rd. This fact was confirmed when Minister Chu stated around 7 p.m. on the same day, "After reviewing Chief Prosecutor Lee's report, it was a rushed indictment," and called for an investigation. Subsequently, around 8 p.m. on the 23rd, Chief Prosecutor Lee sent staff to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to submit the reporting document. However, it was reported that shortly thereafter, Chief Prosecutor Lee instructed the withdrawal of the report.