Yoon Requests Postponement of Disciplinary Committee at Ministry of Justice... Three Witnesses Including Inspector Ryu Hyuk Requested

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol requested the Ministry of Justice on the 2nd to postpone the scheduled disciplinary committee hearing for prosecutors.

On the 1st, Yoon's legal representative, lawyer Lee Wankyu, stated, "We have applied to the Ministry of Justice to change the disciplinary hearing date." He added that they also requested disclosure of information such as access to disciplinary records, disciplinary request approval documents, and the list of disciplinary committee members to ensure the right to defense during the disciplinary review process. Lawyer Lee explained, "The Ministry of Justice has not responded to this, making it impossible to prepare an explanation, so we are applying to change the disciplinary hearing date until appropriate measures are taken."

However, if the disciplinary committee proceeds as scheduled, they requested that witness examinations be conducted according to Article 13 of the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act. Three individuals?Ryu Hyuk, Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice; Park Youngjin, former head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office; and Son Junsung, Policy Officer of Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office?were named as witnesses. Inspector Ryu was requested as a witness regarding the legality of the investigation into Prosecutor General Yoon, Prosecutor Park concerning allegations of obstruction of the Channel A case investigation, and Policy Officer Son regarding the court document case.

Earlier that day, lawyer Lee appeared before the Ministry of Justice Inspection Committee and argued that the disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon were illegal. Lawyer Lee claimed, "Due process was not followed throughout the entire process of initiating the inspection investigation, conducting the inspection, filing the disciplinary request, and issuing the suspension order," adding, "The Prosecutor General was not notified in advance about when the inspection officially began, nor about the subject and scope of the inspection investigation, and was not given an opportunity to defend himself, thus violating the core of due process."

On the same day, the Inspection Committee resolved that the disciplinary request, suspension of duties, and referral for investigation against Prosecutor General Yoon were all inappropriate. It was reported that all attending committee members agreed with this opinion, resulting in a unanimous resolution. Although the Inspection Committee's resolutions or recommendations are not binding, they are expected to place considerable pressure on Minister Choo and the disciplinary committee members when deciding on severe disciplinary actions such as dismissal or removal against Prosecutor General Yoon.