Signs of Prosecutorial Turmoil After 7 Years... Nationwide Spread of Prosecutors' Meetings in Protest of 'Choo Mi-ae Measures'

Statements expected from over 10 Prosecutor's Offices today following yesterday
Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to hold senior prosecutors' meeting today for discussion
"Minister Chu's suspension order illegal and unjust"... Request for reconsideration
Joint opinion posted by six High Prosecutors' Offices nationwide
Prosecutor General Yoon files cancellation lawsuit today following yesterday's suspension injunction request

The scene of the new prosecutor commissioning ceremony held on August 3rd at the Gyeonggi-do Government Gwacheon Complex. New prosecutors are taking the oath in front of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The meeting of rank-and-file prosecutors opposing Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae’s disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is spreading nationwide, showing signs of escalating into a prosecutorial turmoil.

Prosecutor General Yoon is taking full legal action by filing for a suspension of the enforcement of the suspension order issued by Minister Chu, followed by a main lawsuit seeking cancellation of the order.

According to the legal community on the 26th, rank-and-file prosecutor meetings will be held at more than 10 prosecution offices including Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office, Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office, Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office, Cheongju District Prosecutors’ Office, Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office, and Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office.

The collective action by rank-and-file prosecutors is the first in seven years since then-Minister of Justice Hwang Kyo-ahn ordered an inspection of Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook in 2013, sparking controversy over ‘ousting the Prosecutor General.’

These prosecution offices decided to hold rank-and-file prosecutor meetings through senior prosecutors’ meetings the day before, and plan to post the meeting results on the internal prosecution network after the meetings. In the case of Chuncheon District Prosecutors’ Office, the rank-and-file prosecutor meeting was held the previous day, and the results are expected to be disclosed on the day.

Already, rank-and-file prosecutors belonging to the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office Eastern Branch held a meeting the day before and publicly announced the results, stating that “Minister Chu’s disciplinary request and suspension order against the Prosecutor General are illegal and unjust measures” and “these measures seriously undermine the neutrality and independence of the prosecution system and should be reconsidered.”

The group action by prosecutors was initiated by the research prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. About 30 rank-and-file prosecutors belonging to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office held a meeting of research prosecutors and issued a statement urging reconsideration, saying “Minister Chu’s measures are illegal and unjust.” Although some senior officials, including Deputy Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan, tried to dissuade them, the research prosecutors reportedly posted the meeting results on the internal network.

At the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, headed by Chief Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon, known as a representative ‘pro-Chu Mi-ae’ figure, a senior prosecutors’ meeting will be held on the same day to discuss plans for a general rank-and-file prosecutor meeting.

High-ranking prosecutors, the top executives within the prosecution, also issued a statement on the same day pointing out the unfairness of Minister Chu’s measures and requesting reconsideration.

On the morning of the day, the heads of six high prosecutors’ offices nationwide?Cho Sang-chul, head of Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office; Kang Nam-il, head of Daejeon High Prosecutors’ Office; Jang Young-soo, head of Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office; Park Sung-jin, head of Busan High Prosecutors’ Office; Koo Bon-seon, head of Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office; and Oh In-seo, head of Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office?posted a message titled “Opinions of frontline high prosecutors’ office heads on the recent prosecution situation” on the internal prosecution network E-PROS, urging Minister Chu to reconsider the disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon.

The high prosecutors’ office heads stated, “Democratic control by the Minister of Justice over the Prosecutor General requires prudence and restraint, and the procedures and methods must comply with laws and have appropriateness. Regarding the investigative instructions issued several times over the past few months on specific cases, without even reflecting on our judicial history, we are skeptical whether prudence and restraint were met in terms of frequency and content.”

They added, “There is controversy that some inspection instructions were conducted with the purpose of interfering in investigations and trials of specific cases, and there are doubts about the appropriateness of procedures, methods, and content, as most of the inspection instructions and disciplinary request reasons do not match.”

The high prosecutors’ office heads also said, “Furthermore, since the main reason for the disciplinary request is related to the Prosecutor General’s performance of duties rather than personal matters, we believe this is directly connected to guaranteeing the political neutrality of the prosecution. Therefore, we express deep concern that the removal of the Prosecutor General from office may be an attempt to challenge his command, supervision, and judgment in the process of investigating specific cases within the criminal justice domain.”

Finally, the high prosecutors’ office heads earnestly requested the Minister of Justice to conduct a cool-headed and objective evaluation and reconsideration of the current situation and measures so that the sincerity of prosecutorial reform aimed at fairness and strengthening political neutrality is not distorted or belittled, urging the withdrawal of the disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon.

Meanwhile, Prosecutor General Yoon appointed lawyer Lee Wan-kyu, a fellow alumnus from Seoul National University and the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and lawyer Lee Seok-woong, a former judge and one year senior at Chungam High School, as his legal representatives, and applied online for a suspension of the enforcement of the suspension order. He also plans to file a lawsuit to cancel the suspension order at the Seoul Administrative Court on the same day.