Yoon Heads to Jincheon Again... Will a 'Message' Emerge Amid Special Activity Funds and Nuclear Power Pressure?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is stepping out for an external schedule again after six days. On the 3rd, Yoon visited the Legal Research and Training Institute in Jincheon, Chungbuk, where he told newly appointed chief prosecutors, "We must become the people's prosecution by strictly punishing crimes committed by the powerful in society, including those in power." Attention is focused on what message will come amid controversies surrounding the investigation into the alleged economic manipulation of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 and the probe into the Prosecutor General's special activity funds.

On the afternoon of the 9th, Yoon will visit the Legal Research and Training Institute in Jincheon to give a lecture to newly appointed deputy chief prosecutors. Although it is formally an educational session for prosecutors, Yoon may use the lecture as an opportunity to criticize Minister Chu or express his thoughts on current issues.

Earlier, starting with a visit to the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office and District Prosecutors' Office on the 29th of last month, Yoon has resumed his tour of local prosecutors' offices, which had been suspended earlier this year, increasing opportunities to meet frontline prosecutors. On the 3rd, he visited the Legal Research and Training Institute in Jincheon and emphasized to newly appointed chief prosecutors, "The vision and goal of prosecution reform is to guarantee fairness and equality in the enforcement of criminal law and to become the people's prosecution by strictly punishing crimes committed by the powerful in society."

Some interpreted this as a response to Minister Chu's criticism just before the lecture, where she stated, "As a power institution, the political neutrality of the prosecution is demanded more strictly than any other institution. Especially, the words and actions of the Prosecutor General at the top are currently damaging the political neutrality of the prosecution and causing a loss of public trust, which I consider a very serious issue," targeting Yoon.

After Yoon's visit to Jincheon, the conflict between Minister Chu and Prosecutor General Yoon intensified. On the 5th, Minister Chu even raised issues regarding the Prosecutor General's special activity funds during a National Assembly Judiciary Committee meeting. In response to a ruling party lawmaker's question, she said, "(Yoon) uses special activity funds like petty cash," and the next day ordered the Inspection Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to investigate the payment and allocation details of special activity funds at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and other prosecution offices. The investigation targets include ▲ comparative details of payments or allocations by each prosecution office and each department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office compared to the same period of the previous year (including monthly details) ▲ any single payment or allocation of 5 million won or more to a specific prosecutor or department.

Moreover, Yoon is also under attack from the ruling party regarding the investigation into the alleged economic manipulation of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. The Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office conducted raids on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power on the 5th and 6th. The ruling party criticized this as an attack on the Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy, and Minister Chu appeared to partially agree.

Meanwhile, members of the Judiciary Committee will visit the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in the afternoon to conduct an on-site inspection of the execution of special activity funds by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. They plan to review documents related to the payment and execution of special activity funds by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and since Judiciary Committee members from the People Power Party will also participate, an inspection of Minister Chu is expected as well.

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