[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 28th, the Inspection Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated that there was "no prior consultation with the Ministry of Justice" regarding the search and seizure of the Investigation Information Office in connection with the suspicion of 'illegal surveillance of the judiciary.'
The Inspection Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained through a text message distributed to the media in the afternoon, "After receiving and reviewing investigative reference materials from the Ministry of Justice, it was judged necessary to promptly secure materials related to criminal charges, and a search warrant was issued and swiftly executed."
The Inspection Department also denied the allegation that the Ministry of Justice directed the search and seizure, saying, "According to the Prosecutors' Reporting Rules, a simple incident report was made to the Ministry of Justice, and Ministry officials asked about specific details, to which explanations were provided."
Regarding the claim that a team leader opposing the search and seizure was excluded, the Inspection Department explained, "Team members were freely allowed to decide whether to participate in the search and seizure, and after receiving a response that they would not participate, their decision was respected."
The Inspection Department conducted the search and seizure of the Investigation Information Office, which prepared related documents to investigate the suspicion of 'illegal surveillance of the judiciary,' one of the grounds presented on the 25th, the day after Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae held a briefing on the disciplinary request and suspension of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.
Some media outlets raised suspicions that the Inspection Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office might have conducted the investigation with prior knowledge and consultation of Minister Choo's briefing content.
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