Ministry of Justice: "Supreme Prosecutors' Office refuses Prosecutor General Yoon's visit investigation... Will proceed according to future procedures"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae (left) and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Ministry of Justice announced on the 19th that it was unable to conduct a scheduled visit investigation of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol due to non-cooperation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

However, the Ministry of Justice clarified that it plans to proceed with the procedures according to law and principles in the future, making it clear that there is no change in the face-to-face investigation policy.

On the afternoon of the same day, the Ministry of Justice sent a message to reporters stating, "Today, the Ministry of Justice Inspection Office attempted to visit the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to conduct an investigation for fact-finding regarding the Prosecutor General, but the visit investigation did not take place due to non-cooperation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

It is known that the Ministry of Justice conveyed its intention to conduct the visit investigation from 2 p.m. on the same day through an official letter sent to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office the previous day.

The Ministry of Justice added, "This morning, we inquired about the possibility of a visit investigation through the Prosecutor General's Secretariat, but they effectively refused, so the investigation could not proceed. Regarding this matter, there can be no sanctuary regardless of rank or status in investigations or disciplinary inspections, so the Ministry of Justice will continue to proceed with procedures according to law and principles."

The Ministry of Justice also provided a relatively detailed explanation of the process so far, seemingly aware of recent controversies.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "As already informed, the Ministry of Justice Inspection Office found a face-to-face investigation of the Prosecutor General unavoidable last Monday and attempted to coordinate the schedule, but it failed. On Tuesday morning, we notified the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the visit investigation date (the 19th) and attempted to submit the visit investigation notice by registered mail in the afternoon, but it was returned by hand."

It continued, "Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice Inspection Office sent the visit investigation notice to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office by registered internal mail, but on the same day, a Supreme Prosecutors' Office staff member personally brought it back and returned it."

While the Supreme Prosecutors' Office maintains its unprecedented stance of not accepting a face-to-face investigation of the Prosecutor General, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is also unlikely to abandon the face-to-face investigation policy, suggesting that the conflict between the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, as well as between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon, is expected to intensify further.

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