Geum Tae-seop "Yoon's 2-month suspension is cowardly, incompetent, and lacks guts"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who left the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving a lecture at the 'Myeongbulheojeon' meeting of first-term lawmakers of the People Power Party at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 18th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop criticized the Ministry of Justice's Disciplinary Committee for Prosecutors on the 16th for imposing a 'two-month suspension' on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, calling it "cowardly, incompetent, and lacking guts."

Former lawmaker Geum said, "It's worrying to think about how to restore the situation that has been so badly damaged, rather than just laughing it off as 'cowardly, incompetent, and lacking guts,'" and asked, "Is a two-month suspension of the Prosecutor General reform of the prosecution?"

In another post, Geum stated, "Yesterday, the Public Office Corruption Investigation Unit Act, which removed the opposition party's veto power, was promulgated, and at dawn today, for the first time in history, a disciplinary action was taken against the Prosecutor General after staying up all night. Honestly, is this what we should be doing right now?" He pointed out, "The issues we should be focusing on now are obviously COVID-19 and real estate problems."

He continued, "President Moon Jae-in promulgated the bill that removed the opposition party's veto power, saying it is 'difficult to understand the opposition's objection from a common-sense perspective,' and regarding the months-long nationwide turmoil caused by the conflict between the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General, both of whom he appointed, he only talked about procedural legitimacy as if it were someone else's issue," criticizing, "They are making us waste energy on irrelevant matters and trying to avoid responsibility."

He then pointed out, "I am realizing how big the leader risk is."

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice's Disciplinary Committee for Prosecutors deliberated for about 17 hours and 30 minutes from 10:34 a.m. the previous day until 4 a.m. on this day, judging that Prosecutor General Yoon's charges were serious. They acknowledged four out of six disciplinary charges against Yoon and imposed a two-month suspension.

This is the first time in constitutional history that a Prosecutor General has been disciplined. Suspension is a disciplinary action that suspends a prosecutor's duties for a certain period without pay. According to the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, disciplinary actions of reduction in pay or higher require the recommendation of the Minister of Justice and approval by the President.

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