"Not Subordinate to Prosecutor General or Minister" Choo Mi-ae and Cho Kuk Jointly Refute Yoon Seok-yeol's Remarks

"The Prosecutor General's Directive to Remove Investigation Command Is Unreasonable"

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is responding during the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit held at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the morning of the 22nd, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol stated at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's National Police Agency inspection, "The Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice," and added, "Excluding the Prosecutor General from specific cases is a violation of the Prosecutors' Office Act." In response, Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae and former Minister Cho Kuk simultaneously rebutted Yoon's remarks.

Photo by Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice, Facebook capture

On the same day, Minister Chu Mi-ae emphasized in a post on her Facebook, "The Prosecutor General is a public official who is legally subject to the command and supervision of the Minister of Justice."

This is interpreted as a rebuttal to Yoon's statement that "the Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister." As of 7:30 a.m. on the 23rd, the post had received over 8,000 likes and was shared by about 1,000 people.

Netizens commented, "Yoon Seok-yeol’s arrogant and disrespectful behavior is annoying. How much must he have disregarded the public as a prosecutor?" and "Stay strong, Minister Chu."

Photo by Jo Guk, former Minister of Justice, Facebook capture

Former Minister Cho Kuk also refuted Yoon’s claims by posting relevant legal provisions on his Facebook the previous day (22nd).

Cho explained the laws that guarantee the Minister’s authority to command the Prosecutor General, citing: "Article 96 of the Constitution: 'The establishment, organization, and scope of duties of each administrative department shall be determined by law.' Article 32, Paragraph 2 of the Government Organization Act: 'To oversee prosecutorial affairs, the Prosecutors’ Office shall be established under the Minister of Justice.' Article 8 of the Prosecutors’ Office Act (Command and Supervision by the Minister of Justice): 'The Minister of Justice is the supreme supervisor of prosecutorial affairs and generally commands and supervises prosecutors, and specifically commands and supervises only the Prosecutor General regarding particular cases.'"

One netizen criticized Cho’s post, saying, "The Prosecutor General claimed that he is not a ‘subordinate (部下)’ of the Minister of Justice legally, right? It seems he is stubbornly arguing that the exact word ‘subordinate (部下)’ is not explicitly used in the relevant legal provisions."

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is responding during the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit held at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, at the National Police Agency inspection, Prosecutor General Yoon expressed strong dissatisfaction with Minister Chu’s exercise of investigative command rights, which repeatedly deprived him of his authority, stating, "Legally, the Prosecutor General is not a subordinate of the Minister."

Yoon criticized the removal of the Prosecutor General’s command authority as "unreasonable," saying, "If the Prosecutor General were a subordinate of the Minister, there would be no need to operate the vast National Police Agency organization funded by taxpayers."

He also emphasized that excluding the Prosecutor General’s investigative command rights altogether, rather than just directing detention or non-detention investigations, is illegal, but he refrained from pursuing litigation procedures out of concern for public harm.

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