[2020 National Audit] Yoon Seok-yeol: "Autumn's Inspection Order Was a One-Sided Directive"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol stated that he is concerned that the instruction by Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae to conduct an inspection into the possibility of concealment of prosecutors' misconduct may be seen as unilateral and interfering with the investigation.

On the 22nd, during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee hearing, when People Power Party lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye asked, "Minister Chu also issued an inspection order today regarding allegations of prosecutors' entertainment and concealment, as well as biased investigations against opposition politicians. What do you think about this?" Yoon responded, "Currently, investigations into the Lime case are underway at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, so the inspection order could be seen as interfering with the investigation or prosecution."

Yoon, who learned about the matter through the Ministry of Justice's notification, explained, "According to the Ministry of Justice Organization Decree, which is a presidential decree, inspections of frontline prosecutors' offices cannot be conducted for the purpose of interfering with any investigation or prosecution," adding, "Usually, inspections are conducted after investigations are completed and problems arise." When asked if the Prosecutor General himself is subject to inspection, he replied, "I don't know."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice stated that Minister Chu instructed a prompt fact-finding and inspection regarding the controversial matter during the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's National Assembly audit today. The Ministry said, "Regarding reports of misconduct by prosecutors and investigative officers, the Prosecutor General and the leadership of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office claim that they were not informed of these facts until recent media reports and were completely unaware," and added, "However, since the whistleblower's allegations of misconduct align with specific circumstances, we will inspect whether serious misconduct occurred and whether it was concealed or covered up by the investigating prosecutors or reporting channels."