Park Beom-gye: "'Lime' Bribery Prosecutor to Be Disciplined by Ministry of Justice... Regrets Yoon's Silence"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye is attending the government questioning session on politics, diplomacy, unification, and security held at the National Assembly on the 19th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] Park Beomgye, Minister of Justice, announced on the 19th that there will be disciplinary actions at the Ministry of Justice level against some prosecutors who received alcohol entertainment in connection with the 'Lime Scandal.' Regarding the criticism that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has remained silent, he said, "As a minister, I am quite regretful."

On the same day, during the government questioning session at the National Assembly plenary meeting, when Kim Young-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out that two of the three prosecutors who received alcohol entertainment from Kim Bong-hyun, the key figure in the 'Lime Scandal' and former chairman of Star Mobility, were not prosecuted, Park said, "As a result of the ongoing inspection so far, one of the three prosecutors has been indicted, and additional inspections are being conducted on the remaining two." He added, "We intend to initiate disciplinary procedures against the two prosecutors for whom disciplinary charges have been revealed."

Earlier, a civic group filed charges of bribery against the three prosecutors who received alcohol entertainment from former chairman Kim. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, which is in charge of the investigation, did not indict two prosecutors, stating that the amount of entertainment was '960,000 won.'

In response, Assemblyman Kim criticized the prosecution for possibly protecting their own members. Minister Park replied, "It is a calculation method that does not align with public sentiment," and said, "If there are strict measures to be taken by the Ministry of Justice, we plan to take them."

Additionally, regarding Assemblyman Kim's criticism that former Prosecutor General Yoon has remained silent about the allegations of prosecutors receiving alcohol entertainment, Park stated, "(Former Prosecutor General Yoon) did not make any special remarks before his resignation and has not issued any messages since his resignation."

Former Prosecutor General Yoon said during last year's National Assembly audit that "If there is anything to apologize for, I will apologize" in response to questions about the alleged inadequate investigation of the Lime Scandal. Subsequently, the prosecution indicted former chairman Kim and some prosecutors who received alcohol entertainment in connection with the 'Lime Scandal.'

Minister Park said, "Even before his resignation, I think it would have been appropriate to at least apologize during the audit as promised."