[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution has conducted a search and seizure in connection with allegations that so-called 'targeted' inspections were carried out with the aim of forcing Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to step down during the tenure of former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae.
The Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Woo-young) sent prosecutors and investigators to the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Office in Gwacheon and the Central District Prosecutors' Office Records Management Department on the morning of the 4th to secure relevant materials from that time.
This case concerns the Ministry of Justice's inspection of Prosecutor General Yoon in December 2020 during former Minister Chu's tenure, allegedly conducted without following proper procedures. The "Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea" (Hanbyun) filed a complaint with the prosecution against Lee Seong-yoon, then head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute (23rd class), and Park Eun-jung, who was the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Officer and chief prosecutor of the Major Economic Crime Division at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office (29th class).
The organization claimed that the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office provided materials obtained under the pretext of inspecting Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon, who was involved in the so-called 'Channel A case,' without authorization to the Ministry of Justice Inspection Committee that was conducting the inspection of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.
At that time, after investigating the complainants, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office dismissed the case in July last year and decided not to prosecute the two individuals, but Hanbyun immediately filed an appeal. In June, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office sent the case back to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, ordering a reinvestigation, which has now begun.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
