President Moon: "Yoon Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee Must Ensure Procedural Fairness and Impartiality" (Update)

Ministry of Justice Disciplinary Committee Operation Emphasizes "Procedural Fairness and Justice Are Very Important"... Cheong Maintains "No Presidential Guideline" Position

[Asia Economy Reporters Jungmin Ryu and Sunhee Son] President Moon Jae-in stated that procedural fairness and impartiality must be guaranteed in the operation of the Ministry of Justice's disciplinary committee regarding Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. He also conveyed the message that Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu not serving as acting chair of the disciplinary committee would be a measure to ensure fairness.

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, said during a briefing at the Press Hall on the 3rd, "I will convey the President's instructions. President Moon Jae-in emphasized that procedural fairness and impartiality are very important in the operation of the Ministry of Justice's disciplinary committee concerning Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, Spokesperson Kang emphasized, "President Moon said that given the gravity of the matter, the disciplinary committee must guarantee procedural fairness and impartiality even more." This is interpreted as meaning that the request by Prosecutor General Yoon's side to postpone the scheduled meeting on the 4th due to concerns about procedural fairness should be accepted. It implies that a disciplinary decision should not be made despite disputes over the procedure.

President Moon expressed that not assigning Deputy Minister Lee Yong-gu as acting chair of the disciplinary committee would also be a way to secure fairness. Additionally, he conveyed a request to refrain from making premature judgments about the disciplinary committee’s conclusions and to calmly observe the process, in response to reports suggesting that the committee had already reached a predetermined decision.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "The Blue House has stated that the President cannot provide guidelines for the disciplinary procedure. The position that there will be no guidelines during the disciplinary committee’s proceedings will be maintained."

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