Joint Opinion Signed by Chiefs of 6 High Prosecutors' Offices Nationwide... Urging Reconsideration of Disciplinary Request and Suspension of Prosecutor General Yoon

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[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] As meetings of rank-and-file prosecutors at local prosecution offices opposing Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol spread nationwide, senior high-ranking prosecutors have issued a statement pointing out the unfairness of the measures taken by Minister Choo and requesting reconsideration.

On the morning of the 26th, the heads of six high prosecutors' offices nationwide?Cho Sang-chul, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office; Kang Nam-il, Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office; Jang Young-soo, Chief Prosecutor of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office; Park Sung-jin, Chief Prosecutor of Busan High Prosecutors' Office; Koo Bon-seon, Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office; and Oh In-seo, Chief Prosecutor of Suwon High Prosecutors' Office?posted a message titled "Opinions of Frontline High Prosecutors on the Recent Prosecution Situation" on the prosecution's internal network, iProS, urging reconsideration of Minister Choo's disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon.

First, they stated, "In a situation where all citizens are enduring difficult and challenging daily lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline high prosecutors feel a deep sense of responsibility and express regret over the ongoing conflicts between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution."

They also said, "High prosecutors clearly recognize the merits and demerits of the prosecution's past work and agree that the prosecution must also change in accordance with the times. Furthermore, we are doing our utmost to prepare so that there are no gaps or disruptions in frontline work ahead of the implementation of amended laws."

The high prosecutors explained the background of posting the statement by saying, "However, we judged that remaining silent about the accumulated prosecution-related situations would not be the proper attitude of public officials, and thus we wish to express the common opinions of the high prosecutors."

They stated, "The fixed-term system for the Prosecutor General is a legal device based on historical experience to block political interference and secure the independence of duties."

They continued, "We believe the reason for the many controversies surrounding the Ministry of Justice Minister's exercise of investigative control over the Prosecutor General and the suspension of duty is that these measures undermine the fixed-term system of the Prosecutor General and ultimately damage the political neutrality of the prosecution."

The high prosecutors pointed out, "Democratic control of the Prosecutor General by the Minister of Justice requires prudence and restraint, and the procedures and methods must comply with laws and have substantial justification. Regarding the investigative controls exercised several times over specific cases in recent months, even without reflecting on our judicial history, we are skeptical whether they met the standards of prudence and restraint in terms of frequency and content."

They added, "There are controversies that some inspection directives were carried out with the purpose of intervening in investigations and trials of specific cases, and the fact that most inspection directives and disciplinary request reasons do not match raises questions about the appropriateness of procedures, methods, and content."

The high prosecutors said, "Also, since the main reasons for the disciplinary request relate more to the Prosecutor General's performance of duties rather than personal matters, we believe this is directly connected to ensuring the political neutrality of the prosecution. Therefore, we express deep concern that the removal of the Prosecutor General from office might be an attempt to challenge his command, supervision, and judgment in the process of investigating specific cases within the criminal justice domain."

Finally, the high prosecutors earnestly requested the Minister of Justice to conduct a cool-headed and objective evaluation and reconsideration of the current situation and measures so that the sincerity of prosecution reform aimed at enhancing fairness and political neutrality is not distorted or belittled, urging the withdrawal of the disciplinary request and suspension order against Prosecutor General Yoon.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Minister Choo, who is the ex officio chairperson of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee, set the disciplinary hearing date for Prosecutor General Yoon for the 2nd of next month and instructed that Yoon's side be notified to appear.

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