Prosecutors' Backlash Against Autumn Grows... Candlelight Groups Fiercely Criticize Prosecutors as "Gangster-Like Hierarchy"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As frontline prosecutors continue to oppose Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, a progressive civic group has come forward to criticize this.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the Gwanghwamun Candlelight Coalition held a press conference in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, stating, "Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol boldly claims that he is not a subordinate of the Minister of Justice, and prosecutors are so-called 'coming out' in opposition to reform," adding, "When the vested interests face the threat of weakening due to prosecutorial reform, they are resorting to outright resistance and tyranny against the reform."

They argued, "By creating unnecessary Supreme Prosecutors' Offices and High Prosecutors' Offices, they are producing a surplus of high-ranking prosecutors and wasting taxpayers' money," adding, "The principle of prosecutor unity, that prosecutors are one body, has become the soil in which a gangster-like seniority hierarchy and clique culture take root within the prosecution organization."

They also claimed, "The prosecution has become a vested interest and corrupt group that rules over the people and enjoys power, rather than an organization that serves the public," and demanded, "The government and the National Assembly must strip the prosecution of its privileges."

Currently, within the prosecution, public opinion opposing Minister Choo's excessive exercise of command and inspection authority is spreading. After Minister Choo publicly targeted Jeju District Prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo by saying, "If you come out, reform is the only answer," Chuncheon District Prosecutor Choi Jae-man posted a message titled "I will come out too" on the internal prosecution network on the 29th of last month, which has since received 300 comments related to 'coming out.'

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