[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Ministry of Justice has decided to change the start time of the nationwide prosecutors' chiefs meeting scheduled for the 21st. An evening dinner with the prosecutors' chiefs, which was not originally planned, will also be held.
According to the legal community on the 18th, the Ministry of Justice sent an official letter to all prosecution offices nationwide the day before, stating that the start time of the nationwide prosecutors' chiefs meeting scheduled to be held at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 21st will be changed. The meeting was originally scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it has been changed to 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. It was also added that a dinner will be held after the meeting.
The change in meeting time is reported to have been made as Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae pushed for having dinner together with the prosecutors' chiefs.
At the meeting, opinions will be gathered from the prosecutors' chiefs regarding the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecution, the enactment of subordinate laws related to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office bill, and opinions will be heard on the decentralized criminal justice system and improvements to the organizational culture of prosecutorial investigative practices.
Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is delivering opening remarks at a press conference held on the 11th at the Gyeonggi Government Gwacheon Complex. / Gwacheon = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
Although not an official agenda, the recently controversial proposal to separate investigation and prosecution is also expected to be discussed at this meeting. Given that many within the prosecution hold skeptical views on the separation of investigation and prosecution, if Minister Choo reiterates her intention to push it through or directly criticizes former Prosecutor General Yoon's 'opposing opinion,' the conflict is expected to deepen further.
Some have called for the full disclosure of the meeting contents, but the Ministry of Justice is reportedly not considering making the meeting public.
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl plans to visit Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office and District Prosecutors' Office at 2 p.m. on the 20th, a day before the prosecutors' chiefs meeting, to meet with Park Seong-jin, Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, Moon Chan-seok, Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and frontline prosecutors working in the jurisdiction. Although there was speculation that the Gwangju visit schedule might change due to the nationwide prosecutors' chiefs meeting convened by Minister Choo on the 21st, it was carried out as planned after Prosecutor General Yoon expressed his intention not to attend the nationwide prosecutors' chiefs meeting.
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