Who is Yoon Seok-yeol who resigned 4 months before the end of his term?

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol expressed his intention to resign from the position of Prosecutor General on the 4th at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (61) abruptly resigned on the 4th.

After concluding his visit to Daegu High Prosecutors' Office and District Prosecutors' Office the previous day, Prosecutor General Yoon expressed his sudden intention to resign in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-dong, Seoul on the same day. This came about four months before the expiration of his term on July 24.

Yoon graduated from Seoul Chung-Ang High School and Seoul National University Law School. He passed the bar exam at a late age in 1991 and began his career as a prosecutor in 1994 as part of the 23rd Judicial Research and Training Institute class.

In 2013, during the Park Geun-hye administration, he served as the head of the National Intelligence Service's special investigation team on online comments, but after exposing 'investigation interference,' he was demoted to the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office and others. During a National Assembly audit at the time, he famously stated, "I do not serve people."

In December 2016, Yoon served as the head of the special investigation team under Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo, investigating the 'Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil political scandal,' probing former President Park and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

Afterward, under the Moon Jae-in administration launched in 2017, he made a spectacular comeback as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, leading the Moon administration's efforts to root out deep-rooted corruption by investigating former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, as well as former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae.

In July 2019, Yoon was appointed as the new Prosecutor General, becoming the head of the prosecution. Since he was five classes junior to his predecessor Moon Moo-il at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, his appointment was widely regarded as a groundbreaking personnel decision. Both inside and outside the prosecution, it was seen as a 'code appointment' reflecting President Moon's intentions. This unprecedented appointment led to the resignation of about 60 prosecutors who were seniors or peers of Yoon in protest.

However, just three months after his appointment, Yoon clashed with the ruling party and government over the 'adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police.' The conflict deepened particularly during the investigation of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his family, who was appointed from Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs to Minister of Justice in September 2019. As a result, Cho, once considered a leading presidential candidate within the ruling party, resigned from his ministerial post within a month. Yoon continued investigations targeting regime figures, including allegations of 'Blue House election interference' and 'cover-up of Yoo Jae-soo's inspection.'

The conflict reached its peak after former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae was appointed in January last year. In November of the same year, Choo took unprecedented measures by suspending the duties of the sitting Prosecutor General and filing disciplinary charges against him. She also transferred many prosecutors close to Yoon, who had investigated key regime figures, to provincial offices in what was seen as demotion orders.

However, the court accepted Yoon's injunction request against Choo's suspension order, allowing him to return to work. Due to this, President Moon apologized, saying, "I apologize as the appointing authority for causing confusion among the people," and Choo was effectively dismissed in January the following year.

Despite the excessive disciplinary process against him, Yoon held his position and resigned on this day in opposition to the ruling party's push to establish the Serious Crime Investigation Office (Jungsucheong). This came just two days after he openly criticized Jungsucheong in a media interview released on the 2nd.

In his resignation statement on the day, Yoon said, "My work in the prosecution ends here," adding, "However, as I have done so far, I will continue to do my best to protect liberal democracy and the people, no matter what position I hold in the future."