Choo Mi-ae "Excludes Command Authority Over 5 Cases Including Lime and Prosecutor's Family Incident"... Investigation Command to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae recently issued an investigative directive excluding Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's authority over the Lime Asset Management case, which has been embroiled in lobbying allegations, as well as cases related to Prosecutor General Yoon's family.

Following the 'media-prosecutor collusion' suspicion case, Minister Chu has once again stripped Prosecutor General Yoon of his investigative command, intensifying the conflict between the two. Depending on the investigation results, one side is expected to suffer a critical blow.

On the 19th, Minister Chu sent an investigative directive titled "Directive on the Lime Lobbying Allegation Case and Cases Related to the Prosecutor General's Family and Associates" to Prosecutor General Yoon.

In the directive, Minister Chu stated, "Recently raised allegations in the Lime Asset Management lobbying case and cases involving the Prosecutor General himself, his family, and close associates have surfaced. Given that the Prosecutor General himself cannot completely exclude involvement in the Lime lobbying case, a fair and independent investigation is more necessary than ever."

She continued, "Furthermore, cases involving the Prosecutor General, his family, and close associates are matters from which he must recuse himself according to the 'Prosecutor Ethics Code' and the 'Code of Conduct for Prosecutorial Officials.' Therefore, it is appropriate to entrust the investigative team with conducting a thorough and independent investigation." She added, "For these reasons, pursuant to Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, I hereby issue the following directive."

Regarding the specific investigative directive, Minister Chu stated, "To guarantee a fair and independent investigation into the following cases related to the Prosecutor General himself, his family, and close associates, including misconduct by politicians and prosecutors connected to the Lime Asset Management case, the Prosecutor General is directed to ensure that the investigative teams at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office conduct investigations independently without supervision or command from higher authorities such as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and report only the results to the Prosecutor General."

The cases from which Minister Chu excluded Prosecutor General Yoon's investigative command are five in total: ▲Misconduct and cover-up suspicions involving prosecutors and politicians related to the Lime Asset Management case ▲Bribery case under the pretext of sponsorship money related to Cobana Co., Ltd. ▲Stock price manipulation related to Deutsche Motors and preferential stock trading suspicions involving Deutsche Financial ▲Illegal medical institution establishment related to nursing hospital operations, allegations of concealing cases such as non-prosecution in nursing care benefit fraud, and other investment-related complaints ▲Bribery case involving the former head of Yongsan Tax Office, including allegations of case concealment such as dismissal of search warrants and non-prosecution.

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