Prosecutor General Yoon's Disciplinary Request and Suspension Spark Backlash on Prosecutor Internal Network... "Political Violence" and "Disciplinary Grounds Unclear"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is announcing the disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol on the afternoon of the 24th at the press room of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutors are posting rebuttal messages on the internal prosecution network in response to Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae’s disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

According to the legal community on the 25th, since Minister Chu’s announcement yesterday afternoon until today, prosecutors have continuously posted rebuttal messages on the internal prosecution network, Epros, expressing their inability to understand the minister’s actions.

Yesterday, Prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo of Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office posted, “We and the public will clearly remember and hold accountable before history the political outrage committed by Minister Chu under the false pretense of prosecutorial reform.” The post received comments from prosecutors expressing agreement and sympathy.

In particular, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin of Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office Tongyeong Branch expressed agreement in a comment on Lee’s post, stating, “They talk about the people and prosecutorial reform, but it seems to be mere window dressing; what they truly desire is something else that is faithful to the essence of power.”

Kang also pointed out, “This situation reminds me of what Chief Justice Min Bok-ki said during the Park Chung-hee era: ‘Since it is a democratic country, the judiciary had to claim independence, but it was only a matter of putting jujubes and chestnuts on the altar to make it look proper.’”

Prosecutor Kim Kyung-mok of Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office also pointed out on the same day, “The fact that the Minister of Justice ordered the suspension of the Prosecutor General’s duties sets a painful precedent in Korean history that whenever the ruling power is criticized for an investigation, a minister with a political background from the ruling power can dismiss the Prosecutor General under the name of democratic control and prosecutorial reform.”

He added, “Investigations should not operate solely on democratic principles but must be conducted through due process based on the rule of law, considering the quasi-judicial conscience of the investigative subject and the criminal charges. For this, prosecutorial political neutrality is necessary, and democratic control must also be exercised with restraint.”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jung Hee-do of Cheongju District Prosecutors’ Office wrote that morning, “Could the minister have done such an astonishing act alone? Looking at the allegations cited as grounds for discipline by the Minister of Justice, it seems possible only because there are political prosecutors and collaborators parasitizing the regime.”

He criticized, “Those who used to lurk around the regime’s periphery or focus only on self-preservation under the previous administration have become the embodiment of prosecutorial reform since the regime changed. The transformation of those people and the judgment of those who appoint them to key positions are also astonishing.”

He continued, “I believe there should be no prosecutors who blindly follow unjust orders from politicians or political prosecutors. They must deeply consider and discuss whether the superior’s orders are unjust before acting.”

There were also posts expressing incomprehension regarding the disciplinary reasons Minister Chu cited as misconduct by Prosecutor General Yoon.

Prosecutor A said, “It is said that Prosecutor General Yoon met Chairman Hong Seok-hyun, but the related case had already been indicted at that time. If that is a problem, why did the president meet Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was under investigation and trial?”

On the same day, Prosecutor Sung Sang-wook of Goyang Branch revealed that he personally wrote the document that Minister Chu defined as judicial monitoring and stated, “The ‘serious and grave misconduct allegations’ cited by the Ministry of Justice as grounds for the disciplinary request and suspension of the Prosecutor General were contents that I, as a prosecutor, could not understand at all.”

He particularly pointed out, “No one, including the Ministry of Justice, ever asked me, the author responsible for the document, for an explanation or inquiry. If they had asked me even once, it was a matter that could have been sufficiently explained, but it is difficult to understand that no verification was made during the important process of filing a disciplinary request against the Prosecutor General.”