[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] One day before the meeting to decide the disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae unleashed strong criticism against the "all-powerful prosecution organization." Despite the worsening public opinion, it is interpreted that she is once again employing a fundamental strategy to justify pushing forward Yoon's disciplinary action by emphasizing the necessity of prosecutorial reform.
Minister Chu's post on Facebook on the 3rd can be summarized as "I will not back down." She stated, "I will restore the exercise of prosecutorial power, which has been arbitrarily and biasedly carried out in favor of insiders and those sharing interests, to a prosecution that practices fair rule of law without discrimination." She also expressed her determination to disregard the current backlash. Minister Chu said, "Even former presidents have fallen victim to harsh investigative theatrics," and added, "I will advance unwaveringly and move forward without fear to restore the prosecution as a protector of human rights."
As Minister Chu has declared a major overhaul of the prosecution organization, the disciplinary action against the Prosecutor General, who stands at the top, is expected to proceed as scheduled. However, there are variables. Yoon's side is preparing to request additional changes to the hearing dates and to file recusals. Yoon's legal representative, lawyer Lee Wankyu, submitted a "Request for Rescheduling" to the Ministry of Justice on the same day, asking for a change in the disciplinary committee's hearing date.
Lawyer Lee is raising issues starting from the Ministry of Justice's change of the disciplinary committee date from the 2nd to the 4th the previous day. He argues that the first hearing date violates the provision requiring a grace period of at least five days after the summons is delivered. Reflecting this, the disciplinary committee could only be held after the 8th. On the other hand, the Ministry of Justice is organizing its stance to proceed with the disciplinary committee as scheduled. Having already granted one postponement, they do not intend to delay further.
Another key issue is whether to disclose the list of disciplinary committee members. Yoon's side insists on confirming the committee members to protect their right to defense, including filing recusals, but the Ministry of Justice refuses. Lawyer Lee also submitted an "Objection to Non-Disclosure of Disciplinary Committee Member List" to the Ministry of Justice that morning.
However, regardless of whether the disciplinary committee is held or its outcome, time seems to be flowing in favor of Yoon's side. If Minister Chu pushes forward with the disciplinary committee, she may again be entangled in controversies over illegality. A lawyer with prosecution experience commented, "If the Ministry of Justice does not negotiate on Yoon's requests for date changes, committee member lists, and witness applications, the court will inevitably point out procedural flaws again."
There are ongoing internal and external criticisms that Minister Chu is pushing recklessly despite confirmation through court decisions and the inspection committee's results that the inspection process was illegal. This is also causing the collapse of Minister Chu's support base within the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution. Following Ko Ki-young, the Deputy Minister of Justice and a core figure of the "Chu Mi-ae line," Kim Wook-jun, the First Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office who led the investigation into Prosecutor General Yoon's mother-in-law case, has also tendered his resignation.
If the disciplinary committee meeting or decision is postponed altogether, the situation becomes even more favorable to Yoon. Upon returning to duty, Yoon approved arrest warrants for officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The faster and more successful the investigations targeting the administration proceed before the disciplinary action is finalized, the stronger Yoon's position becomes. Minister Chu's control over the disciplinary committee will also weaken significantly, making it difficult to assert whether external members will decide on severe disciplinary actions such as dismissal according to her intentions.
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