Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol Cornered by Internal and External Pressure

Family Accusations, Close Aide Inspection, and Calls for Internal Resignation
Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Chief Sends 'Inspection Initiation' Text to Prosecutor General Yoon

On July 25 last year, Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General, delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is facing what is being evaluated as the greatest crisis of his term amid strong pressure from both inside and outside the prosecution.

Whether Prosecutor General Yoon, who is cornered on all sides, can shake off these internal and external adversities is drawing attention, as it could also affect the intensity of investigations into major cases scheduled to resume after the general election.

This refers to cases suspected to involve figures from the current administration, such as the Lime Asset Management scandal and the Ulsan mayoral election interference case.

The most painful point for Prosecutor General Yoon is that calls for his resignation have begun to come not from the opposing political camp but from within the prosecution itself.

According to the prosecution on the 8th, Jang Mo, a senior secretary (Grade 4) of the Violent Crimes Division at Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, posted a message on the internal communication network e-Pros yesterday demanding Prosecutor General Yoon's resignation. In the post, Secretary Jang wrote, "Given that you and your family members are under suspicion of (criminal) activity, I believe it is appropriate for you to step down from your position."

This refers to the situation where Prosecutor General Yoon’s wife and mother-in-law have become subjects of a prosecution investigation. This is the first time such voices have been publicly expressed within the prosecution. Although the post received comments from several people, including Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im Eun-jung, Secretary Jang deleted the post after the controversy grew.

Another serious matter is that the head of the Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office 'notified' Prosecutor General Yoon of the commencement of an inspection regarding the so-called 'prosecution-media collusion' allegations, where a close prosecutor to Yoon allegedly colluded with the media to dig up misconduct of pro-government figures.

It was revealed on the 8th that Han Dong-su, head of the Inspection Department appointed during former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk’s tenure upon recommendation from the Blue House, sent a text message to Prosecutor General Yoon on the 7th notifying him of the start of the inspection. A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official responded cautiously, saying, "We cannot confirm specific details related to the inspection."

There are speculations that the ruling coalition is framing the upcoming general election as a 'saving Cho Kuk' campaign and a 'killing Yoon Seok-yeol' effort, but even considering this, the potential destructive power of these series of events appears very significant.

On the previous day, Choi Kang-wook, former Secretary for Public Discipline at the Blue House and proportional representative candidate for the Open Democratic Party, and Hwang Hee-seok, former Director of the Human Rights Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office against Prosecutor General Yoon’s wife Kim Geon-hee (48) and mother-in-law Choi Mo (74) on charges including forgery of private documents and stock manipulation.

Also on the same day, related to the allegations of collusion between a Channel A reporter and the prosecution exposed by an MBC report, the civic group Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media filed a complaint with the prosecution accusing the reporter and an unnamed prosecutor appearing in the report of intimidation. The unnamed prosecutor has been identified as Prosecutor General Yoon’s close aide, Prosecutor Han Mo, but the individual denies the allegations.

Meanwhile, the prosecution investigating the Ulsan mayoral election interference case, which involves allegations of Blue House-directed investigations and election interference, recently succeeded in unlocking the password of the mobile phone of investigator Baek Mo, seized during a search. Investigator Baek, who worked under former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Baek Won-woo and is known to have reviewed police investigations related to then-Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon in 2018, took his own life while under prosecution investigation. Both the prosecution and political circles are closely watching what clues might be contained in his phone.

Additionally, Prosecutor General Yoon has been reinforcing the investigative team at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the Lime scandal involving a former Blue House administrative officer, concentrating investigative efforts. In this context, Prosecutor General Yoon’s position could significantly influence the direction of post-election investigations into whether current administration figures are involved.

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