Disciplinary Committee Suspends Yoon Seok-yeol for 2 Months... "4 Grounds Recognized" (Comprehensive)

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl (right) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee on the 16th imposed a two-month suspension on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. This is an unprecedented disciplinary action against a Prosecutor General in constitutional history.

After discussions and voting among the committee members, the decision was made past 4 a.m. that day, approximately 17 hours and 30 minutes after the meeting began. Initially, it was expected that the committee would decide on the disciplinary action and its severity around midnight the previous day, but the discussions unexpectedly extended.

The disciplinary vote was conducted by four attending members. According to the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, if the most unfavorable opinion towards the accused does not reach a majority of the attending members, the next most unfavorable opinions are added sequentially until a majority is reached, and the decision is made based on that opinion.

The committee consisted of Acting Chairperson Jeong Han-jung, Professor Ahn Jin from Chonnam National University Law School, Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, and Shin Seong-sik, Head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. It has not been disclosed who among them agreed to the suspension. The charges acknowledged by the committee against Prosecutor General Yoon include allegations of surveilling the judiciary, obstructing the Channel A case investigation and inspection, and compromising political neutrality.

Acting Chairperson Jeong stated after the vote, "Based on the evidence, we recognized four reasons and determined the disciplinary measure." He added, "There were various discussions ranging from dismissal to six months suspension and four months suspension. We continued discussions until a majority was reached, and at the moment the majority was achieved, we chose the disciplinary measure favorable to the respondent (Prosecutor General Yoon)." Deputy Minister Lee also said while leaving the building, "The committee considered many aspects and various angles before reaching a conclusion. We did our best."

The disciplinary action decided by the committee will be executed by President Moon Jae-in after being proposed by Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. Once executed by President Moon, Prosecutor General Yoon will be suspended from duty for two months. During the suspension period, Deputy Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan is expected to act as the Prosecutor General.

In the early morning of the 16th, Jeong Han-jung, acting chairman of the disciplinary committee, who completed the second review of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's disciplinary committee, is leaving the Ministry of Justice building.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the disciplinary committee held its second review session for Prosecutor General Yoon at the Ministry of Justice, Government Complex Gwacheon Building 1, starting around 10:35 a.m. the previous day. Yoon's side filed a motion to disqualify Acting Chairperson Jeong and Head Shin during the morning session, but the committee dismissed it.

There was also a dispute between Yoon's side and the committee regarding the submission of mobile phones. The committee reportedly requested the submission of mobile phones before the session started for security reasons. However, Yoon's side refused, and it was eventually agreed that the phones would be placed on the table during the interrogation.

During the morning interrogation, Son Jun-sung, Head of Investigation Information at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, appeared as a witness. Son is responsible for the Investigation Information Policy Office and prepared the judicial surveillance documents that sparked the so-called 'judge surveillance' allegations earlier this year under Prosecutor General Yoon's orders. Yoon's special defense team also participated in the interrogation, directly questioning the witness and receiving answers.

In the afternoon session, interrogations continued with Ryu Hyuk, Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice, Park Young-jin, Chief Prosecutor of Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office, Lee Jeong-hwa, Prosecutor of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, and Han Dong-soo, Head of Inspection at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Initially, Shim Jae-cheol, Director of the Prosecutor's Office at the Ministry of Justice, was selected as a witness but was withdrawn by the committee. Instead, Shim submitted a written statement expressing his position. The interrogations of Han and others concluded around 7:30 p.m.

After the interrogation, Yoon's side requested a continuation to prepare a final statement to the committee, but the request was denied. In protest, they gave up the opportunity to make a statement and left the meeting room. Yoon's special defense attorney Lee Wan-gyu told reporters, "It seems the Ministry of Justice had already decided the outcome," and added, "Since the disciplinary process itself is illegal and unjust, we will not accept the result and will respond accordingly." Prosecutor General Yoon was reportedly informed of the situation and responded, "Understood."

Yoon's side is expected to immediately file a cancellation lawsuit. In particular, they plan to file a lawsuit seeking cancellation of the disciplinary action and simultaneously request a suspension of execution to halt the effect of the disciplinary measure. During the lawsuit process, they will also await the Constitutional Court's provisional injunction decision on the effectiveness of the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act.

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