Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae (left) and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The disciplinary committee meeting for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, originally scheduled for the 4th, has been postponed to the 10th.
On the 3rd, the Ministry of Justice stated, “Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae accepted the request to reschedule the disciplinary committee hearing for the Prosecutor General in order to guarantee procedural rights and sufficient defense rights, and decided to postpone the hearing to Thursday the 10th, reflecting the schedules of the committee members.”
The Ministry of Justice also added, “We will make every effort to ensure a thorough review at the upcoming disciplinary committee meeting.”
The disciplinary committee for Prosecutor General Yoon was initially scheduled for the 2nd but was postponed to the 4th due to the sudden resignation of Ko Ki-young, the Deputy Minister of Justice, who was supposed to act as the disciplinary committee chair in place of Minister Choo.
However, Yoon’s side requested a rescheduling based on Article 269, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which states that “the first trial date must allow a grace period of at least five days after the summons is delivered.” They demanded that a grace period of at least five days be guaranteed from the date the notice of the schedule change was received. Yoon’s side argued that this provision should also apply when the trial date is changed.
Minister Choo’s acceptance of Yoon’s request appears to be a response to the court’s earlier decision to suspend the execution of the suspension order, which pointed out procedural issues regarding the guarantee of defense rights during the process before the suspension order was issued.
If the disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon is approved and executed, he is expected to file a cancellation lawsuit against the disciplinary decision along with a request for suspension of execution. It is highly likely that the Ministry judged that procedural defects could negatively affect the court’s ruling.
On the same day, President Moon Jae-in also emphasized the operation of the disciplinary committee regarding Prosecutor General Yoon, stating, “Procedural legitimacy and fairness are very important for the disciplinary committee,” and urged, “Please watch calmly without prejudging the outcome.”
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