[2020 National Audit] Yoon Seok-yeol: "The Prosecutor General Is Not a Minister's Subordinate... Chu Mi-ae's Investigation Command Is Clearly Illegal and Unfair" Resolute Statement (Comprehensive)

“Not Accepting Investigation Command. Just Did Not File Legal Appeal”
“Frontline Prosecutors Also Think Minister Choo Mi-ae’s Investigation Command Is Illegal and Unfair”

On the 19th, during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is responding to a lawmaker's question.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol made a series of candid remarks during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s inspection of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on the morning of the 22nd, stating, “The Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice,” and “The investigative directive by Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, which stripped the Prosecutor General of his investigative command authority, is certainly illegal and unjust.”

On the same morning, Park Soon-cheol, head of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, who was made the chief investigator of the Lime case under Minister Chu’s investigative directive, posted a statement saying, “Politics has overshadowed the prosecution,” and resigned, pointing out that “the main allegations behind Minister Chu’s directive to exclude the Prosecutor General from command are far from the truth.” This is expected to increase public criticism of Minister Chu’s investigative directive.

That day, Prosecutor General Yoon openly expressed his true feelings in response to a question from Yoon Han-hong, a member of the People Power Party, regarding Minister Chu’s investigative command.

Rep. Yoon said, “Minister Chu issued an investigative directive on the Channel A case, calling it ‘media collusion,’ but it was proven false and failed. The recent investigative directive (including the Lime case) was also based on grounds such as ‘the Prosecutor General does not investigate opposition politicians’ and ‘prosecutors do not properly follow investigative commands.’ However, looking at the statements made by the head of the Southern District Prosecutors’ Office during the last inspection and his resignation statement today, all the grounds for that directive turned out to be false.”

He continued, “Previously, Prosecutor General Yoon said at a National Assembly inspection, ‘It is right not to follow illegal or unjust orders.’ Now, the investigative directive is literally a criminal’s word, and the grounds have disappeared. What do you think about this investigative directive?”

Prosecutor General Yoon took a moment to compose himself and asked, “May I say a few words?” Rep. Yoon replied, “Yes,” giving him the opportunity to respond.

Afterward, Prosecutor General Yoon delivered a series of determined remarks.

“The Minister of Justice is a politician... If the Prosecutor General is a subordinate of the Minister, the prosecution’s political neutrality is out of the question”

He said, “Legally speaking, the Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice.”

Prosecutor General Yoon added, “If the Prosecutor General were a subordinate of the Minister, there would be no need to create the position of Prosecutor General. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office is entirely a staff organization to assist the Prosecutor General. There would be no need to spend the budget, collect taxpayers’ money, and operate such a vast facility and organization.”

He continued, “The Minister is fundamentally a politician, a political appointee. If the Prosecutor General, who oversees the prosecution nationwide, were a subordinate of the Minister, then investigation and prosecution would all fall under the direction of a politician, which is far from the prosecution’s political neutrality and judicial independence.”

Prosecutor General Yoon also expressed regret over the current reality where the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution have become adversarial since former Minister Cho Kuk’s tenure and Minister Chu’s appointment.

He said, “Therefore, although the prosecution is exceptionally considered an external agency of the Ministry of Justice, in the past, it was not even called an external agency. The Ministry of Justice and the prosecution always consulted on personnel and jointly created rules and regulations; there was never such confrontation.”

Minister Chu’s investigative directive contradicts the purpose of the Prosecutors’ Office Act... Majority of prosecutors and legal experts say it is “illegal and unjust”

Prosecutor General Yoon clearly explained the purpose of the Prosecutors’ Office Act, which stipulates the Minister’s investigative command authority over the Prosecutor General.

Article 8 of the Prosecutors’ Office Act (Minister of Justice’s Command and Supervision) states, “The Minister of Justice is the highest supervisor of prosecutorial affairs and generally commands and supervises prosecutors, but commands and supervises only the Prosecutor General regarding specific cases.”

Prosecutor General Yoon said, “The purpose of the Prosecutors’ Office Act is that, exceptionally, when the Minister needs to express his position or opinion on matters such as the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office or Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, he should do so through the Prosecutor General. Whether the Minister has the authority to exclude the Prosecutor General’s authority in specific cases is considered illegal and a violation of the Prosecutors’ Office Act by the majority of prosecutors and legal experts.”

“I did not accept the investigative directive... I just did not pursue legal litigation”

Prosecutor General Yoon also refuted the Ministry of Justice’s position that he accepted the Minister’s investigative directive.

He said, “I did not accept that (investigative directive). I did not accept it, and there is no issue of compliance on my part...”

He added, “There is a question of whether to legally dispute this and go to litigation. If that happens, the Ministry of Justice and prosecution organizations would become too chaotic, and ultimately the damage would return to the public. I did not want to engage in a tug-of-war or competition with the Minister over that specific case, so I simply did not proceed with any litigation process.”

“Stripping the Prosecutor General’s command based solely on a serious criminal’s words... truly irrational”... Frontline prosecutors share the same view

On the other hand, Prosecutor General Yoon reiterated that Minister Chu’s investigative directive is illegal and unjust. He revealed that the majority of frontline prosecutors and investigators also believe the measure to strip the Prosecutor General’s investigative command authority based solely on the words of a serious criminal in custody is illegal and unjust.

He said, “However, we believe that this (investigative directive) is illegal, and the grounds and purpose are certainly unjust. Although prosecutors do not openly say so, frontline prosecutors all think it is illegal and unjust.”

He continued, “I don’t know how the public or legal professionals think. But a significant number of frontline prosecutors and investigators think that repeatedly, I won’t say that I am a fraudster or anything like that, but these are cases involving people who committed serious crimes, received long sentences, and are currently incarcerated. In this case, the person is expected to receive a very heavy sentence. To strip the Prosecutor General’s command and criticize the prosecution based on the words of such a person is truly irrational,” delivering a direct blow.