Prosecutor General Yoon Suspended Up to 2 Months... Intense Strategic Battle Expected

Even if the cancellation lawsuit is won, the term is likely over
Strong offensive drive expected if Prosecutor General Yoon returns early

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Although the decision on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's reinstatement depends on the court, assuming a maximum two-month absence of the Prosecutor General regardless of the outcome, a fierce strategic battle is expected between Yoon's side and the anti-Yoon faction during this period.

In ordinary lawsuits, provisional injunctions or suspension of execution requests are usually temporary measures to either issue a provisional disposition or suspend the effect of a disposition until the main lawsuit is concluded, and are generally considered less important than the outcome of the main lawsuit.

However, since Prosecutor General Yoon has only about seven months left in his term, even if he wins the cancellation lawsuit, it is highly likely that his term will have already ended. Therefore, whether the effect of the two-month suspension is temporarily suspended or not holds significant meaning.

Furthermore, the court's decision on whether to grant the suspension of execution request could be a critical blow to either Minister Chu, who has been pushing forward disciplinary procedures against Yoon, or to Prosecutor General Yoon himself.

Previously, the court accepted the suspension of execution request against Minister Chu's order to suspend Yoon's duties, pointing out several procedural flaws in the disciplinary process, which is favorable to Yoon. On the other hand, the fact that the court has already ruled once in favor of Yoon and that a relatively lighter suspension rather than dismissal or removal was imposed are unfavorable factors.

If Prosecutor General Yoon returns early, he is likely to resume his aggressive drive, including investigations into the administration, leading to increased friction with the government.

Conversely, the longer Yoon's return is delayed, the more the Ministry of Justice, led by Minister Chu and the Democratic Party of Korea, are expected to devise various measures to significantly restrict Yoon's room for maneuver even after he completes the two-month suspension.

Such measures may include Minister Chu continuing to perform duties until the next Minister of Justice is appointed, establishing a loyalist system through the last personnel appointments in the prosecution, or using the launch of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) as leverage to pressure Yoon's position.

Currently, it is highly anticipated that Minister Chu will conduct another personnel reshuffle in the prosecution, filtering out senior officials who opposed her during conflicts with Yoon, and be replaced by early next month when the CIO is launched.

It remains to be seen whether President Moon will appoint a former high-ranking prosecutor like So Byung-chul, a Democratic Party lawmaker and former high prosecutor, as Minister Chu's successor to stabilize the troubled prosecution organization, or appoint a non-prosecutor to continue the Ministry of Justice's 'de-prosecution' and prosecution reform efforts.

With the passage of the CIO Act, which removed the opposition party's veto power over the CIO chief candidate recommendation, the CIO is expected to be launched by mid-next month at the latest.

Attention is also focused on the first investigation targets of the newly launched CIO under the restructured investigative system starting next year, which includes the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police and the transfer of counterintelligence investigative authority from the National Intelligence Service.

If, as the opposition feared, the first investigation targets include cases related to Prosecutor General Yoon or the prosecution's existing investigations, or the 'Wolseong Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant' case involving the Blue House and the ruling party, the political neutrality of the CIO could once again become a hot topic.

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