"Choo Mi-ae, Violation of Prosecutorial Independence and Undermining Rule of Law"... Collective Statement by Prosecutors Affiliated with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is announcing the disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol on the afternoon of the 24th at the press room of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A collective statement from rank-and-file prosecutors requesting reconsideration has emerged, arguing that Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol are illegal and unjust.

Until now, individual prosecutors had expressed opposition to Minister Choo's frequent investigative directives and inspection orders by posting dissenting comments or replies on the internal prosecution network, but this is the first time that prosecutors have officially gathered their opinions and made a public statement.

On the 25th, about 30 rank-and-file prosecutors from the 34th Judicial Research and Training Institute class and below, affiliated with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, held a meeting of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Research Officers and reached this conclusion.

These research officers stated, "The Minister of Justice's decision to abruptly prevent the Prosecutor General, who directs all investigations, takes responsibility for the results, and whose term is guaranteed by law, from performing his duties through procedures and processes that are difficult to accept not only infringes on the independence of prosecution work but also seriously undermines the rule of law, making it illegal and unjust."

They added, "We earnestly request the Minister of Justice to reconsider the disciplinary request and suspension order so that the prosecution can fulfill its duties and responsibilities in accordance with the Constitution and conscience."

Meanwhile, since Minister Choo's briefing the previous day, posts opposing her measures have continued on the internal prosecution network, describing her actions as a "political outrage" or pointing out that "this is possible because there are political prosecutors and collaborators parasitizing the regime."

In particular, Prosecutor Seong Sang-wook of the Goyang Branch Office, who revealed that he personally drafted the court surveillance document cited by Minister Choo as a reason for disciplining Prosecutor General Yoon, pointed out procedural problems with the measure, saying, "It was routine work," and "I was not consulted at all during the important process of requesting disciplinary action against the Prosecutor General."

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