[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has filed a motion with the court to suspend the effect of Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae's order to suspend his duties and plans to file a cancellation lawsuit seeking to revoke the order.
With Minister Chu expected to hold a disciplinary committee meeting for prosecutors on the 2nd of next month to decide on Yoon's dismissal, the court's ruling on Yoon's suspension motion is anticipated to have a significant impact on the development of the situation.
On the 26th, Yoon is scheduled to submit a complaint for cancellation of the suspension order to the Seoul Administrative Court. Prior to this, Yoon filed a motion the previous late afternoon online to suspend the effect of the suspension order.
Yoon, who expressed his intention to take legal action against Minister Chu's disciplinary request and suspension order, has taken legal steps just one day after being excluded from his duties.
It is reported that on the 24th, when Minister Chu held a briefing, Yoon left the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and told his close aides, "I will take legal action not for my position but to protect democracy and the rule of law."
Yoon appointed legal representatives including Lee Wan-gyu, a former prosecutor and classmate from Seoul National University and the 23rd Judicial Research and Training Institute, from the law firm Dongin, and Lee Seok-woong, a former judge and one year senior at Chungam High School from the 14th Judicial Research and Training Institute, from the law firm Seowoo.
Yoon's side is known to have emphasized in the suspension motion and complaint that the six reasons Minister Chu cited as grounds for the suspension order are factually incorrect, and even if some grounds are true, they do not justify issuing the suspension order.
Meanwhile, a suspension of execution is a court decision that temporarily suspends the effect of an administrative disposition until the main lawsuit's outcome is determined, when it is recognized that irreparable damage may occur due to the administrative action.
A lawyer A, a former presiding judge of the Administrative Court, said, "In suspension of execution cases, the key criterion is not the judgment on the main case but whether irreparable infringement of legal interests has occurred due to the disposition."
In other words, in this case, the court will not decide whether Minister Chu's suspension order is lawful or unlawful, but will weigh the damage Yoon would suffer by being suspended until he wins the main cancellation lawsuit (if the suspension motion is dismissed) against the public interest harmed if the suspension order's effect is suspended but Yoon loses the main lawsuit (if the motion is accepted).
Lawyer A predicted, "In this case, there is considerable room for the judge's discretion to affect the outcome."
Especially since Yoon's term expires in July next year, if the court dismisses Yoon's suspension motion, even if Yoon wins the main cancellation lawsuit, his term may have already ended.
Unlike ordinary trials, suspension of execution cases, which require promptness, usually conclude within a week at most. The court's first ruling on Yoon's suspension motion is expected to be a crucial turning point in the confrontation between Minister Chu and Yoon.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Minister Chu, who is the ex officio chairperson of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee, set the disciplinary hearing date for Yoon to the 2nd of next month and instructed that Yoon's side be notified to appear.
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