Disciplinary Committee for Prosecutor Yoon Resumes at 2 PM... Four Members from Yoon's Side Request Recusal

Lee Seok-woong (left) and Lee Wan-gyu, special attorneys for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, are attending the Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol Disciplinary Committee held at the Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 10th. / Gwacheon - Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The disciplinary committee for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, held on the morning of the 10th, was adjourned about an hour after it began to allow for the recusal request procedure by Yoon’s side, and resumed again at 2 p.m. Yoon’s side requested the recusal of four disciplinary committee members, drawing attention to how many of these requests the committee will accept.

The disciplinary committee held at the Ministry of Justice’s Gwacheon Government Complex started about 10 minutes later than the scheduled time of 10:30 a.m.

There was interest in the external members whom the Ministry of Justice did not disclose, but it was reported that most of the committee members were guided to the meeting room through the back entrance instead of the main gate where the press was gathered.

Professor Jeong Han-jung of the Graduate School of Law at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, who has served on the Ministry of Justice’s Legal and Prosecutorial Reform Committee and the Prosecutorial Past Affairs Committee, was appointed as the disciplinary committee chair to lead the meeting in place of Minister Choo. Professor Jeong was appointed as a disciplinary committee member replacing Professor A from a private university in Seoul, who resigned before the committee convened.

Among the disciplinary committee members were ex officio member Vice Minister Lee Yong-gu, and two prosecutor members appointed by the minister: Shim Jae-cheol, Director of the Ministry of Justice’s Prosecutor’s Office, and Shin Sung-sik, Head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Among the three external disciplinary members appointed by the minister, only Professor Ahn Jin from Chonnam National University Law School attended. Lawyer Choi Tae-hyung and Professor A reportedly resigned before the committee convened.

Ultimately, Minister Choo, who filed the disciplinary request, was disqualified, and after two of the remaining six members resigned, Professor Jeong was reappointed, so the disciplinary committee proceeded with five members present. Of these five disciplinary committee members, four, excluding Vice Minister Lee, are known to be from the Honam region.

Other witnesses included Ryu Hyuk, Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice, Son Joon-sung, Head of Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and Park Young-jin, Chief Prosecutor at the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office. The attendance of additional witnesses requested by Yoon’s side, such as Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Han Dong-soo, Head of the Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and Jung Jin-woong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, has not yet been confirmed.

Yoon’s side reportedly expressed their intention to recuse four disciplinary committee members, including Vice Minister Lee, emphasizing the illegality and unfairness of the disciplinary charges before deliberating on the disciplinary reasons during the morning session.

Since most of the disciplinary committee members appointed or designated by Minister Choo are classified as pro-government figures, it is expected that Yoon’s recusal requests are unlikely to be accepted.

In the afternoon, a full deliberation on the six disciplinary reasons cited by Minister Choo as grounds for the disciplinary request against Yoon is expected to take place.

If the disputes between the Ministry of Justice and Yoon’s side prolong and the committee members fail to reach a consensus, it is possible that the final resolution will not be reached on the day, and the disciplinary committee may schedule additional deliberation sessions.

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