Yoon Prosecutor's Side: "Disciplinary Committee Review on 10th Illegal and Invalid"... "Minister Chu and Director Shim Jae-cheol Should Nominate Reserve Members"

Jang Han-jung, Acting Chair of Disciplinary Committee, "Disciplinary Procedure to be Completed by 15th"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] As the Ministry of Justice disciplinary committee for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is scheduled to continue on the 15th, Yoon's side has claimed that the first hearing held on the 10th violated the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act regarding the composition of the disciplinary committee members, rendering it illegal and invalid.

Lee Wan-kyu, Yoon's lawyer, stated in a press release sent to reporters on the day, "The Prosecutor Disciplinary Act stipulates that 'the disciplinary committee shall be composed of seven members including the chairperson, and three alternate members shall be appointed,' so the committee must have seven members," adding, "Since the Minister of Justice, who is the chairperson, cannot be a member due to disqualification, one alternate member should have been appointed to make seven members."

Lee further said, "At the disciplinary committee on the 10th, there was no alternate member designated as a committee member, so there were only six members, which violates Article 4 of the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act that requires the committee to be composed of seven members."

He argued, "Therefore, the disciplinary committee hearing on the 10th was illegal and invalid, so the committee composition must be redone before proceeding again."

Lee also stated that he plans to request the disciplinary committee to designate an alternate member for the positions of Minister Chu and Prosecutor General Director Shim Jae-cheol, who avoided the hearing, to form a seven-member committee at the second disciplinary hearing scheduled for the 15th.

Furthermore, he holds the position that if one external member who was absent from the first hearing has resigned from the committee, an alternate member must be designated.

On the other hand, regarding Yoon's side's claims, Professor Jeong Han-jung of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Law School, who is acting chairperson of the disciplinary committee, reportedly holds the view that there is no problem with the composition of seven disciplinary committee members since Minister Chu is not involved in the hearing but still retains the position of disciplinary committee member.

Additionally, in a recent interview with a media outlet, Professor Jeong stated that they have obtained Yoon's side's consent to omit questioning witnesses who do not appear on the 15th, and unless there is a severe disagreement among the committee members, they intend to conclude the disciplinary committee on the 15th as much as possible.

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