[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun criticized the court's decision to grant a "stay of execution" on the Ministry of Justice's two-month suspension disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, saying, "Isn't this a legal coup created by the prosecution and judiciary uniting as one?"
On the morning of the 25th, Kim said on his TBS radio program "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory," which he hosts, "This is an unacceptable ruling."
He continued, "So a judge, just a single judge of the Administrative Court, said, 'I will guarantee the term of the Prosecutor General for myself,'" adding, "It seems that the inconsistency between the front and back of the (court) decision document is not important."
He then said, "In the world, there is action and reaction, so if (the court) comes out like this, there will be a greater reaction of force," and concluded, "Since it's Christmas, be angry only up to this point and continue being angry again on Monday."
Earlier, on the 24th, the court made a stay of execution decision on the Ministry of Justice's two-month suspension disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, marking the first time in constitutional history that such a decision was made for a sitting Prosecutor General. With this decision, Prosecutor General Yoon will return to work on the 25th after eight days.
The court said, "Most of the six disciplinary reasons claimed by the Ministry of Justice regarding Prosecutor General Yoon lack sufficient evidence or are disputable," and "It is difficult to conclude that there is no possibility of Prosecutor General Yoon winning the main lawsuit to cancel the disciplinary action."
However, the court stated that "(in the case of the judge's document) there is a risk of misuse, so it is very inappropriate," and while partially accepting the Ministry of Justice's claims regarding the Channel A obstruction of inspection charges, it did not fully accept Prosecutor General Yoon's side's claim of "groundless disciplinary action." The points pointed out by the court will be tasks that Prosecutor General Yoon must resolve in the upcoming main lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the person Kim referred to as "just a single judge" on that day is Chief Judge Hong Soon-wook of the Administrative Division 12 of the Seoul Administrative Court. He is the one who accepted Prosecutor General Yoon's application for a stay of execution of the two-month suspension on the 24th, leading to Prosecutor General Yoon's return to duty. Born in Seoul, he graduated from the Department of Law at Korea University and has been serving as a chief judge at the Seoul Administrative Court since February 2018. In 2013, he was selected as an outstanding judge by receiving perfect scores in all categories in the judicial evaluation conducted by lawyers belonging to the Seoul Bar Association.
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