Yoon Seok-yeol's Side: "If Reported, It's Up to Investigation... No Special Statement to Make"

"It is not a situation to enter or act based on a complaint submission"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol attended the opening ceremony of Namsan Yejang Park and the Lee Hoe-young Memorial Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 9th, participating in the national ceremony. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Juni Park] The side of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol stated on the 10th that they have "no particular position to disclose" regarding the investigation by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) on charges including abuse of authority.

In a phone call with this outlet on the same day, Yoon's side said, "A complaint has been filed with the HCIA," adding, "Then an investigation must commence, and from our perspective, it is not a situation where we can issue a statement just because a complaint has been filed."

The HCIA previously booked former Prosecutor General Yoon on charges of obstructing investigation and prosecution of prosecutors suspected of poor investigation of the Optimus fund fraud case and of coaching false testimony against former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 12 (Presiding Judge Jeong Yong-seok) held the first preparatory hearing for the lawsuit filed by former Prosecutor General Yoon against the Minister of Justice seeking cancellation of disciplinary action. The court summoned Shim Jae-cheol, head of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (then Director of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor's Office), and Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Public Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, as witnesses. Yoon's side called Shim to support their claim that there were no grounds for the Ministry of Justice's disciplinary action, while the Ministry requested Lee as a witness.