Hanbyun "Forced Deactivation of Mobile Phones Destroys Rule of Law... Report Against Choo Mi-ae"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A conservative-leaning lawyers' group is filing a complaint against Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae for abuse of authority over her directive to enact a law mandating the forced unlocking of cellphone passwords.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the "Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea" (Hanbyeon) plans to file a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office against Minister Choo in the afternoon on charges of abuse of authority. They argue that ordering the enactment of a law that forces the unlocking of cellphone passwords and penalizes non-compliance violates the constitutional right to remain silent.

Additionally, they intend to include in the complaint allegations of abuse of authority related to ▲ordering inspections on prosecutions by frontline prosecutors' offices where there is no controversy over illegality ▲obstruction of investigations into corruption cases such as Lime Asset Management ▲exclusion of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol from investigations.

Hanbyeon stated, "Ordering the enactment of a law that forces the unlocking of cellphone passwords and penalizes non-compliance infringes upon the constitutional right to remain silent," and regarding the inspection order related to the indictment of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung and the exercise of investigative authority concerning the Lime and Prosecutor General Yoon's family suspicion cases, they added, "We cannot help but suspect illegality of purpose."

Meanwhile, last month, Minister Choo instructed that the investigation teams of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office independently investigate the misconduct cases involving ruling and opposition politicians and prosecutors related to the Lime Asset Management case, and only report the results to the Prosecutor General. On the 12th of this month, she directed to review legislation that would enforce compliance and impose sanctions if cellphone passwords are maliciously concealed to obstruct investigations.

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