"Prosecutor General Is Not Minister's Subordinate," Yoon Seok-yeol's Resolute Remarks Criticizing Chu Mi-ae and the Democratic Party

"Selective Definition" Criticism by Ruling Party Met with "Isn't It Selective Doubt?" Direct Rebuttal

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is responding during the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit held at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the morning of the 22nd, Yoon Seok-yeol, the Prosecutor General who was stripped of his authority to oversee the investigation into Lime Asset Management (Lime) and the prosecution's misconduct allegations, unleashed a series of determined remarks in response to criticisms about the inadequate investigation during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's inspection of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

Yoon's remarks that morning centered on △ the background of his 'slander' comment related to Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's criticism of the inadequate investigation △ the allegations of the Lime investigation's shortcomings △ the Ministry of Justice's personnel appointments in the prosecution △ and rebuttals to the ruling party's perspective on the prosecution.

In some statements, Yoon said, "The Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice," and "Excluding the Prosecutor General from specific cases violates the Prosecutors' Office Act." Regarding his position, he made it clear that he has no intention of stepping down, saying, "No matter what pressure there is, I must fulfill my duties."

He also directly countered the ruling party's inquiries by accusing them of 'selective suspicion.' As a result, reactions from both ruling and opposition parties sharply diverged over Yoon's remarks.

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is responding during the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit held by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ "Slander against the Prosecutor General... The Most Polite Word I Could Use"

On that day, Yoon said about the 'slander' remark, "The word 'slander' is the most polite word I could use."

Earlier, on the 18th, the Ministry of Justice announced that the prosecution's investigation into the Lime scandal had not been properly conducted. In response, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office strongly opposed, stating, "This is completely unfounded and amounts to slander against the Prosecutor General."

In turn, Minister Choo criticized Yoon on her Facebook post, mentioning the frequent summons of Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility, the 'mastermind' of the Lime incident, and said, "Before angrily calling it 'slander,' as a commander, you should have first reflected and apologized."

Furthermore, on the previous day (the 21st), Minister Choo used harsh expressions such as "the Supreme Prosecutors' Office deceived the people," to which Yoon replied, "These claims are completely unfounded."

Regarding the political perspective surrounding the investigation, Yoon dismissed it, saying, "I instructed the chief prosecutors to report directly and conduct thorough investigations to avoid future criticism and issues during the autumn National Assembly inspection."

He added, "I even called the head of the Southern District Prosecutors' Office within 10 minutes after receiving reports about prosecutors' entertainment and ordered him to identify those involved," and countered, "I cannot understand on what basis they announced that 'the Prosecutor General is also involved in the inadequate investigation.'"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is leaving the Ministry of Justice building at the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 22nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ "Personnel appointments are not done that way... No consultation process"

Regarding Minister Choo's criticism of the inadequate investigation into the Lime incident, Yoon countered, "After the Lime bankruptcy incident occurred, I ordered a thorough investigation in February due to a shortage of personnel, and later reinforced the investigation team." He continued, "So far, 50 people have been indicted and 30 detained, and the investigation is substantial. I understand that the Southern District Prosecutors' Office team, led by Chief Prosecutor Park Soon-cheol, worked closely together."

Yoon also made determined remarks about the prosecution personnel appointments. He directly criticized Minister Choo, saying, "There was no personnel appointment done by preparing everything in advance and proceeding that way."

Regarding the personnel process, he claimed, "There was no practical consultation with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. When I was told to draft a plan, I said, 'Minister, shouldn't the Prosecutor's Office at the Ministry of Justice at least provide a basic plan for me to work on?' They replied, 'Since the appointing authority is the President, the personnel plan is with the Blue House. They asked to send it after adding opinions.'"

On the morning of July 25 last year, President Moon Jae-in is shaking hands with newly appointed Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl after presenting the appointment letter at the Blue House. Photo by Yonhap News.

Yoon added, "Although the President holds the authority for prosecutor appointments, usually the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor's Office drafts the plan, and I have consulted with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office executives."

Regarding the ongoing conflict with Minister Choo, he said, "The Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice," and "If the Prosecutor General were a subordinate, there would be no need to operate such a vast organization as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

He also pointed out, "The Minister of Justice is basically a politician. If the Prosecutor General were a subordinate of the Minister, it would mean that the prosecution's investigation and prosecution are under the political control of a politician."

Regarding President Moon Jae-in's remark at his appointment to "investigate even the living powers," Yoon said, "I believe the President still thinks that way."

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice was suspected of favoring prosecutors from the criminal and trial departments in personnel appointments this year and demoting many special investigation prosecutors. During this process, criticism arose in political circles that the Ministry of Justice made unilateral personnel decisions without consulting Yoon.

◆ "Isn't That Also Selective Suspicion?" Direct Criticism of Ruling Party Lawmakers

Yoon directly rebutted Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye, who pointed out 'selective justice' in the prosecution's investigation, saying, "Isn't that also selective suspicion?"

Yoon responded this way when Park said, "Robert Jackson, former U.S. Attorney General and Prosecutor General, said that when a prosecutor acts with malice, he becomes the worst prosecutor, and that prosecutors must maintain impartiality without personal interests toward any group. Prosecutor General Yoon's justice is selective justice."

Yoon also raised his voice, saying to Park, "You didn't act like that in the past, did you? You didn't act like that toward me in the past, did you?"

When Park asked if he was willing to apologize regarding the 'prosecutor entertainment allegations' exposed by Kim Bong-hyun (46), former chairman of Star Mobility, who is imprisoned due to the Lime scandal, Yoon said, "I will make an appropriate statement after reviewing all the investigation results."

Regarding Park's question about whether Yoon met with the owner of a media company who cannot be said to be unrelated to Samsung after the Samsung Biologics (Samba) case was reported on November 20, 2018, Yoon avoided a direct answer, saying, "It is difficult to confirm. How can I confirm when there is another party involved?"

When criticized about whether meeting media owners is customary, Yoon emphasized, "In the past, I know many meetings took place, but I personally did not meet such high-profile people often and never behaved inappropriately." He added, "The Samba case was investigated so thoroughly that it was said to be excessively harsh from outside."

Reactions from ruling and opposition parties sharply diverged over this response attitude. Democratic Party lawmaker So Byung-chul pointed out, "When a witness is asked one question, he answers ten, making it unclear who is actually inspecting whom."

Democratic Party member and Judiciary Committee Chairperson Yoon Ho-jung warned, "When additional answers are needed, I asked to get the chairman's permission to respond, but he continued answering for almost 10 minutes."

On the other hand, People Power Party lawmaker Jang Je-won said, "Although the answers are long, he is answering tens of times more politely than Minister Choo. We should not scold a witness who wants to explain in detail."