Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Deputy Chief Prosecutors' Joint Statement... "Disciplinary Action Against Prosecutor General Yoon Erodes 'Procedural Fairness'"

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-dong, Seoul. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] In response to the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee's decision to impose a "2-month suspension" on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, deputy chief prosecutors of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a collective statement criticizing that "procedural fairness has become hollow."

The 35th class deputy chief prosecutors of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the largest in the country, stated in a statement posted on the internal prosecution network E-Pros on the afternoon of the 16th, "We previously expressed the opinion that the disciplinary request and suspension of duties against the Prosecutor General by the Minister of Justice on the 24th of last month were carried out without sufficient fact-finding, violating procedural justice and going against the spirit of prosecution reform."

They continued, "However, looking at the series of processes that followed, not only were the grounds for discipline unjust, but there were also serious procedural defects throughout the entire disciplinary process, from the composition of the disciplinary committee to the resolution."

They pointed out, "The Ministry of Justice itself did not guarantee the sufficient procedural rights and defense rights it had promised, and ultimately, the 'procedural fairness' emphasized by the President has become hollow."

They emphasized, "Such discipline seriously undermines the political neutrality and independence of the prosecution and the rule of law, which the fixed term system for the Prosecutor General aims to achieve, and therefore must be corrected."

Deputy chief prosecutors serve as the middle management between chief prosecutors and ordinary prosecutors in each department within the prosecution. It is significant that such a unified voice from mid-level prosecutors has emerged in the Central District Prosecutors' Office, led by Lee Sung-yoon, who has sided with Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae and opposed Prosecutor General Yoon.

Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae visited the Blue House immediately after concluding a joint briefing on "Power Institution Reform" at the Government Seoul Office in the afternoon of the same day and submitted the disciplinary proposal of a "2-month suspension" against Prosecutor General Yoon to President Moon Jae-in.

If President Moon approves the discipline against Prosecutor General Yoon, it is expected that the wave of opposition among prosecutors to this disciplinary action will spread.

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