[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 20th, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae said, "It is a natural and fortunate measure that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has changed his stance and complied with the instructions of the Ministry of Justice Minister."
Minister Choo stated on her Facebook that "Now, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office must expand and reorganize the related investigation teams and strengthen them." She also said, "(The investigation teams) must be independent from higher authorities such as the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and work with the attitude equivalent to a special prosecutor, conducting swift and thorough investigations solely based on law, conscience, and principles to meet the public's expectations."
Minister Choo emphasized, "The law must be applied fairly and impartially under the same standards and criteria without exception regardless of status or position," and added, "This should apply equally not only to cases involving former and current Ministers of Justice or political figures but also to cases involving the Prosecutor General, his family, and prosecutor misconduct." She also urged, "I hope the members of the prosecution will focus unwaveringly on the people's livelihood and human rights."
The day before, Minister Choo exercised her investigative command authority, ordering Prosecutor General Yoon to step away from the Lime Asset Management corruption investigation. This was the third time during her tenure that she stripped the Prosecutor General of his investigative command authority, following the reassignment of the Han Myeong-sook perjury coaching suspicion case and the investigation into collusion between prosecutors and media. This time, she included cases involving family members and close aides in the scope of the command authority removal.
Prosecutor General Yoon immediately accepted the command authority removal within 30 minutes of Minister Choo's announcement. Nevertheless, some interpret Minister Choo's description of the Prosecutor General's "change of stance" as different from the collusion case, where a meeting of chief prosecutors was convened, noting that this time he accepted it immediately. This has led to speculation that Prosecutor General Yoon has effectively become a 'figurehead prosecutor general,' but there is also cautious anticipation that he might make a 'determined statement' at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit on the 22nd. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated that they have "no separate position" regarding Minister Choo's remarks today.
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