Yoon Seok-yeol Files Constitutional Complaint: "Appointment of Disciplinary Committee Members by Minister of Justice is Unconstitutional" (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Yoon Seok-yeol, the Prosecutor General, has filed a constitutional complaint arguing that the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, which stipulates that the Minister of Justice appoints members of the disciplinary committee for the Prosecutor General, is unconstitutional. He also filed a provisional injunction request to suspend the disciplinary procedure until the result is announced.

On the 4th, Lee Wankyu, the legal representative of Prosecutor General Yoon, stated, "We have filed a constitutional complaint against Article 5, Paragraph 2, Items 2 and 3 of the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act." Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act regulates the members of the Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee. Item 2 specifies that two prosecutors appointed by the Minister of Justice serve as members, and Item 3 states that one member each is appointed by the Minister of Justice from among lawyers, law professors, and persons with abundant knowledge and experience.

Attorney Lee argued, "In the disciplinary procedure against the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Justice can both file the disciplinary request and appoint or commission most of the disciplinary committee members, thus constituting the majority of the committee. Therefore, when the Prosecutor General is the subject of disciplinary charges, fairness cannot be guaranteed at all."

He further explained, "The method of composing the committee, which can seriously undermine fairness, deprives the Prosecutor General, who is the subject of discipline, of the right to hold public office, thus exceeding the legislative limits of constitutional restrictions on fundamental rights." He also claimed, "The relevant provisions allow the disciplinary requester to appoint and commission the majority of the members of the disciplinary committee, which is the adjudicating body, severely lacking appropriateness and fairness, and do not comply with the core principle of 'separation of prosecution and adjudication.'"

They also decided to proceed with the provisional injunction request. Attorney Lee stated, "Applying these provisions to the Prosecutor General is unconstitutional," and added, "We have also filed a provisional injunction request to suspend the disciplinary procedure until the result is announced."