'Choo Mi-ae and Yoon Seok-yeol' First Official Meeting... Ended in 35 Minutes (Summary)

Yoon Seok-yeol, Prosecutor General, Visits Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on the 7th
Meeting Held for About 30 Minutes at the Minister's Office
Formal Courtesy Call on Appointment... No Private Meeting Between 'Yoon-Choo'
Justice Ministry and Supreme Prosecutors' Office: "Routine Visit Following Minister's Appointment"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol held an official meeting at the Ministry of Justice on the 7th, marking his first visit since Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae took office.

At 4 p.m. that day, Prosecutor General Yoon met Minister Chu in the minister's office and held a meeting for about 35 minutes. The meeting was conducted in the form of greetings from heads of affiliated agencies under the Ministry of Justice, and the scene of the two meeting was not made public.

Initially, it was reported that Prosecutor General Yoon would meet Minister Chu separately before the heads of agencies under the Ministry of Justice paid a courtesy visit to her. However, with the Deputy Minister of Justice, Director of the Prosecutor's Office, and Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office attending together, a private meeting between the two did not actually take place.

After the visit, Prosecutor General Yoon left the Ministry of Justice building around 4:35 p.m. without responding to reporters' questions such as "Was there any discussion about personnel matters?" and "Is your promise to protect the convictions of the prosecution members still valid?"

When Prosecutor General Yoon arrived at the Ministry of Justice building for the visit around 3:55 p.m., he also did not respond to reporters' questions such as "Will you discuss personnel matters related to prosecutors?" and "What is your position on the speculation that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office investigation leadership will be significantly replaced?" Minister Chu, who arrived at the Ministry of Justice building about an hour earlier than Prosecutor General Yoon, also headed to her office without answering reporters' questions such as "Will you exchange opinions with Prosecutor General Yoon regarding personnel matters?" but only smiled.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Immediately after the meeting ended, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office sent text messages to reporters stating, "Today's meeting was a customary courtesy visit by the Prosecutor General following the inauguration of the Minister of Justice, during which they exchanged New Year's greetings, compliments, and friendly talks." They added, "The Minister of Justice requested cooperation to ensure that the legislative reforms of the prosecution are well established, and the Prosecutor General actively agreed and pledged to do his best to complete the prosecution reforms during the minister's tenure."

Some speculated that Prosecutor General Yoon and Minister Chu would exchange opinions regarding prosecution personnel matters at this meeting. However, it has not been confirmed whether any mention of high-ranking prosecution personnel appointments was made. The Ministry of Justice had previously stated that opinion gathering related to prosecution personnel would be conducted separately according to standard procedures.

This is the first official visit by Prosecutor General Yoon to the Ministry of Justice since Minister Chu took office. Previously, Prosecutor General Yoon did not attend Minister Chu's inauguration ceremony held on the 3rd. It is customary for the Prosecutor General not to attend the Ministry of Justice Minister's inauguration ceremony but to meet separately.

Prosecutor General Yoon and Minister Chu also met at the government's New Year's gathering but reportedly did not engage in a separate conversation. When Minister Chu was appointed, the two are known to have exchanged brief congratulations only by phone.

Given that the Ministry of Justice has stated that opinion gathering regarding prosecution personnel will be conducted separately, it is widely expected that the two will meet once more. The prosecution also holds the position that the opinion gathering process must follow the procedures stipulated by law. According to the Prosecutors' Office Act, the Minister of Justice must listen to the Prosecutor General's opinion when appointing prosecutors and propose their assignments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.