Choo Mi-ae: "Prosecutorial and Judicial Powers Can Become Tools for Democratic Usurpation"

Posted on Facebook on the 14th titled 'A Coup Disguised as Law'
Cases of Presidents Impeached After Economic Reforms Also Included

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] On the 14th, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae emphasized the necessity of prosecutorial reform, stating, "If the vigilant and discerning citizens do not continue their cold judgment and surveillance, prosecutorial and judicial powers can become tools that usurp democracy."

In a post titled "A Coup D'?tat Disguised as Law" uploaded to her Facebook early that day, Minister Choo said, "Reading Attorney Lee Yeon-ju's 'Why I Left the Prosecution' left me breathless at times," and added, "I felt a distant thought that there is still a long way to go as the prosecution continues to avoid facing its distorted self-portrait."

'Why I Left the Prosecution' is a book published on the 11th of last month by former prosecutor Attorney Lee Yeon-ju, containing criticisms of the prosecution. Minister Choo's citation of this book is interpreted as an expression of dissatisfaction with the recent failures of several measures targeting Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.

Earlier, on the 9th, Minister Choo was spotted by media cameras holding this book at the National Assembly plenary session. Before the session ended, she shared a passage from the book on Facebook: "The price for prosecutors betraying the people is not high, but the price for betraying the organization is high."

She then referred to the Netflix documentary film 'Democracy in Crisis,' which deals with Brazil's first female president Dilma, explaining, "After Dilma implemented economic reforms, she was impeached due to an alliance attack by conglomerates and capital-owned media and prosecution resisting these reforms."

She continued, "Prosecutor Moro indicted former President Lula on corruption charges without evidence," and "Lula protested, saying 'This is a coup,' but was imprisoned." Her emphasis on 'coup' in the title of her post and the Brazilian case appears to be an indirect criticism of Prosecutor General Yoon and the prosecution's behavior.

Finally, Minister Choo added, "It is a night filled with many thoughts as I witness the terrible example that if democracy is not continuously subjected to the cold judgment and surveillance of vigilant citizens who are not tamed or corrupted by the media, prosecutorial and judicial powers can also become tools that usurp democracy."

Recently, Minister Choo has stopped openly criticizing Prosecutor General Yoon and has avoided direct mentions of him. This contrasts with her previous stance, where she pushed forward investigations targeting Yoon and exerted pressure by exercising investigative command authority.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice is scheduled to hold a second disciplinary committee meeting regarding Prosecutor General Yoon on the 15th. This disciplinary committee will focus on questioning witnesses adopted on the 10th and will conduct in-depth discussions on the six disciplinary charges against Yoon.

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