[Summary] Choo's "Until 10 AM Tomorrow" Final Ultimatum... Ruling Party Pressures Yoon Seok-yeol

Lee Nak-yeon "If the Minister Directed, It Must Be Accepted"
Park Ju-min "Prosecutor-Media Collusion, Incident Involving Yoon Seok-yeol's Closest Aide"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is arriving at the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province on the morning of the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] As Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae exercised her authority to direct the investigation into the 'prosecutor-media collusion' allegation case, and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is deliberating whether to accept it, ruling party figures have stepped up pressure on Prosecutor General Yoon.

On the morning of the 8th, Minister Choo issued a statement through the spokesperson's office, saying, "We must no longer turn back to the wrong path," and added, "We will wait one more day until 10 a.m. on the 9th. We await the Prosecutor General's wise judgment."

On the same day, lawmakers from the ruling coalition also launched an offensive, insisting that Prosecutor General Yoon should accept Minister Choo's investigative directive. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Nak-yeon appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "If the minister has exercised investigative authority according to the law regarding a matter involving allegations against personnel within the prosecution, I believe it is wise to accept that."

Park Joo-min, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, pointed out, "The prosecutor-media collusion case involves a close aide of the Prosecutor General, and to ensure fairness in the investigation, the Prosecutor General's involvement or instructions during the investigation process should be minimized," adding, "It has been six days since Minister Choo's investigative directive regarding the prosecutor-media collusion, but the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has yet to clarify its position."

Hwang Hee-seok, the Supreme Council Member of the Open Democratic Party, pointed out to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol on Facebook on the 8th that "24 hours is more than enough time." Photo by Hwang, Supreme Council Member Facebook capture

Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, said on KBS's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strong Current Affairs' program, "It is unacceptable that Prosecutor General Yoon has not responded to the minister's request to understand the directives," and criticized, "Rather than reviewing whether to obey the minister as a public official, it seems to have entered the political stage. There is no legal or practical justification to refuse the minister's directive."

Additionally, Hwang Hee-seok, a Supreme Council member of the Open Democratic Party, wrote on his Facebook, "Twenty-four hours is more than enough time to prepare and submit an answer sheet," and sarcastically added, "If it were me, it wouldn't even take five minutes."

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 2nd, Minister Choo exercised her authority to direct the investigation into the prosecutor-media collusion case. She halted the procedure to convene the special investigative advisory panel that Prosecutor General Yoon had initiated and directed the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team to ensure its independence. This was interpreted as an instruction for Prosecutor General Yoon to effectively step back from the investigative command line related to the case.

Meanwhile, Minister Choo continued to pressure Prosecutor General Yoon even after exercising the investigative directive. On the 4th, she posted on Facebook urging frontline prosecutors, "Do not waver, and let our entire prosecution organization focus solely on the people and walk the right path." Furthermore, on the 7th, the Ministry of Justice recommended, "The Prosecutor General should not hesitate but promptly implement the minister's directives exactly as stated."