Listening to Opinions on Investigation-Prosecution Separation on the 21st
De Facto First 'Conversation with Prosecutors'
Yoon Seok-yeol Notifies "Will Not Attend"
Many Chiefs Prosecutors May Also Be Absent
Core Members of Yoon Seok-yeol's Team Transferred to Provinces
Heated Debate Expected if Gang Nam-il, Park Chan-ho, Lee Doo-bong Attend
Diverging Views on Non-Disclosure of Indictments
Possible Verbal Clash Among Chiefs Prosecutors
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae has scheduled a meeting with chief prosecutors, including the 'Yoon Seok-yeol faction,' on the 21st at the Ministry of Justice's 7th-floor conference room and has notified the prosecution of this plan. However, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol immediately decided not to attend, and it is highly likely that a significant number of chief prosecutors will also not participate. The outcome of the 'anti-Choo Mi-ae' sentiment rising within the prosecution over personnel matters and the separation of investigation and prosecution is also expected to partly influence whether this meeting will take place.
According to the Ministry of Justice and prosecution sources on the 14th, Minister Choo decided to hold a meeting on the 21st with the chief prosecutors of six high prosecutors' offices nationwide, senior officials at the level of district prosecutors from 18 local prosecutors' offices, and executives from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and is currently checking the attendance of the chief prosecutors.
However, it is anticipated that many chief prosecutors may not respond positively. This is because Prosecutor General Yoon had already informed the Ministry of Justice that he would not attend. Legal circles analyze that a meeting chaired by the Minister of Justice without the Prosecutor General would be very uncomfortable for the chief prosecutors. A lawyer familiar with the prosecution organization said, "The chief prosecutors may interpret Prosecutor General Yoon's notice of non-attendance as a message to 'not participate in the meeting together.'"
Nevertheless, some chief prosecutors may attend to convey the atmosphere within the prosecution, so the meeting could become a kind of 'face-to-face debate.' The Ministry of Justice intends to use this meeting as an opportunity to hear the chief prosecutors' opinions on 'the separation of investigation and prosecution within the prosecution' and the improvement of the prosecution's investigative practices and organizational culture, but the actual meeting is expected to deviate significantly from these topics. The conflict between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution, triggered by investigations and prosecutions related to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's personal corruption, has recently intensified due to the prosecution personnel turmoil and the Blue House's decision to withhold the indictment in the election interference suspicion case. These issues may also be contested during the meeting between Minister Choo and the chief prosecutors.
If chief prosecutors who were key figures in the 'Yoon Seok-yeol faction' and worked at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office but were transferred to local offices last January attend, the meeting atmosphere could become even more heated. Attention is focused on whether Kang Nam-il, Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office (former Deputy Prosecutor General), Park Chan-ho, Chief Prosecutor of Jeju District Prosecutors' Office (former Head of the Public Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), and Lee Doo-bong, Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office (former Head of the Scientific Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), will attend. Verbal clashes among chief prosecutors cannot be ruled out.
According to frontline prosecution officials, opinions among chief prosecutors are reportedly sharply divided regarding the appropriateness of withholding the indictment. Many chief prosecutors are also said to be dissatisfied with the recent actions of the Ministry of Justice and Lee Sung-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. At the investigation meeting held on the 9th at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in preparation for the 21st National Assembly election, Gwangju District Prosecutor Moon Chan-seok openly criticized Lee Sung-yoon's behavior for disobeying Prosecutor General Yoon's order to indict Choi Kang-wook, Secretary for Presidential Public Office Discipline. A similar scene may unfold at the meeting on the 21st.
Meanwhile, this is the second time Minister Choo has directly met with frontline personnel, including chief prosecutors, to hear their opinions. On the 16th of last month, she had lunch with 14 '2019 Outstanding Prosecutors' selected by the Korean Bar Association at the Government Complex Gwacheon. At that time, Minister Choo lightly listened to the prosecutors' opinions and conveyed requests related to the reduction of direct investigations by the prosecution. No in-depth discussion on the issues between the prosecution and the Ministry of Justice took place. On the 6th, Minister Choo made a surprise visit to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and met with Prosecutor General Yoon for 35 minutes, expressing her intention to "communicate."
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