'My Way' Choo meets Yoon in a surprise meeting... Explains controversy over non-disclosure of indictment (Comprehensive Report 2)

Proposal for Autumn Scenery, Unexpected Meeting
Cooperation on Prosecutorial Structure Reform Discussed
Bold Move Amid Controversy Over Non-Disclosure of Indictment
Choo Mi-ae "Careful Consideration of Publicizing Accused Facts... Will Be Revealed Through Criminal Trial"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Song Seung-yoon] On the 6th, Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who had maintained a tense relationship due to the prosecution personnel turmoil, insubordination controversy, and investigations targeting the Blue House, held an unannounced meeting.

On that morning, Minister Chu visited the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and held a surprise meeting with Prosecutor General Yoon. It is known that the meeting was arranged at Minister Chu's suggestion. This was Minister Chu's first visit to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office since her inauguration, and the second meeting between the two since last month's 7th, when the Prosecutor General paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed minister at the Government Complex Gwacheon. Originally, Minister Chu was scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Justice spokesperson's office branch (Uijeonggwan) on the second floor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, which was prepared according to her wishes, but she decided to meet with Prosecutor General Yoon beforehand. During the meeting, Minister Chu expressed her gratitude for the establishment of the Ministry of Justice spokesperson's office branch at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and suggested close communication regarding the investigation structure reform work.

Despite various controversies such as the dismantling of the regime investigation team and the decision to keep indictments confidential, Minister Chu, who has been following her 'my way' approach, made a surprise visit to Prosecutor General Yoon, which can be interpreted as her intention to maintain this series of policies. Minister Chu also attended the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Justice spokesperson's office branch, 'Uijeonggwan,' reinforcing the 'voice of the Ministry of Justice.'

After stopping by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and attending the spokesperson office opening ceremony, Minister Chu said, "When you visit one village, it is polite to greet the neighboring village as well," and added, "I stopped by to exchange greetings and expressed my thanks for helping to prepare this space today."

Minister Chu stated, "Ahead of the reform of power institutions, there will likely be many opportunities for cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution," and added, "The President also instructed to maintain the total capacity of national investigations while reforming, so I said, 'Let's communicate with each other; the meaning of this opening ceremony is important for communication,' and Prosecutor General Yoon agreed."

On the 6th, at the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Justice Spokesperson Office 'Uijeonggwan' held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo, along with other officials, are participating in the plaque unveiling ceremony. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Even amid controversy over the decision not to disclose the indictment in the Blue House election interference suspicion case announced the previous day, Minister Chu showed boldness. It is reported that when setting the policy of non-disclosure of the indictment, Minister Chu told Ministry of Justice officials, "I will bear the political burden."

Regarding this, Minister Chu said, "Since there are many people involved in this case, we carefully considered the situation where the suspect's facts are publicly disclosed for those whose investigation disposition has not yet been decided," and added, "Of course, it will be disclosed through the criminal trial process."

Minister Chu further emphasized, "There is the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence, and accordingly, the prohibition of publicizing suspect facts. It is unthinkable for the Ministry of Justice to break the laws it has created itself," and said, "While I agree with correcting bad practices within the Ministry of Justice, there were concerns about political misunderstandings, and I decided to fully endure them."

In response to a question about whether refusing to submit the indictment to the National Assembly might be illegal, Minister Chu replied, "It is true that there is an obligation to respond to data submission under the National Assembly Act, but there is no clear standard on the extent," and added, "All laws follow higher laws, so it is reasonable to consider that it is subject to the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence, and based on that standard, we responded to the data submission."

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae is attending the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Justice Spokesperson Office 'Uijeonggwan' held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

This is the first time since moving into the building in 1982 that the Ministry of Justice has established a branch office inside the prosecution building rather than the Gwacheon Government Complex. Minister Chu has maintained the position that the Ministry of Justice's publicity function should be strengthened to change the situation where reports related to investigations mainly reflect the prosecution's position. However, there is also an analysis that this is a strategic move to gain an advantage in the upcoming public opinion battle with the prosecution. Fierce public opinion battles with the prosecution are expected when follow-up practical work begins regarding the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecution and the introduction of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office.

The prosecution views this move unfavorably. They believe that this sudden measure taken amid ongoing investigations related to the regime is inappropriate. There are even comments describing the cohabitation of the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution under one roof as "close to a comedy." Especially, recent actions by the Ministry of Justice, such as the controversial non-disclosure of indictments and the 'passing controversy' in the prosecution personnel process, are evaluated as 'one-way traffic,' leading to skepticism about the sincerity of the intention to strengthen communication.

The controversy over the 'non-disclosure of indictments' announced by Minister Chu the previous day is also spreading widely in the legal community. Since Minister Chu cited "wrong practices" as the reason for refusing to submit the indictment, it is argued that this principle should have been applied equally to other cases. It is expected to affect whether the indictment will be disclosed in the 'Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries merger suspicion' case, where indictments are imminent. Regarding this, a Ministry of Justice official publicly responded to the press, saying, "In principle, the original indictment will not be submitted even if anonymized."

However, voices concerned about the infringement of the 'people's right to know' are not insignificant. Kim Kyung-yul, former co-executive director of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, stated in an urgent commentary from the Economic Democracy 21 Preparatory Committee the previous day, "This Ministry of Justice measure ignores the people's right to know and is likely to further solidify 'collusion between politics and law,' 'collusion between politics and economy,' and 'collusion between law and prosecution.' The ripple effect should be noted," and argued, "If the disclosure of indictments is refused, the people's right to know can only be fulfilled through trials, but if the court decides to hold closed trials, the case will inevitably be concealed."

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