Major Japanese Media Give Significant Coverage to Yoon Seok-yeol's Disciplinary Action... "Also a Blow to Moon Administration"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Major Japanese daily newspapers extensively covered on the 17th the circumstances and background of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol receiving a two-month suspension disciplinary action the previous day.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, boasting a large circulation in Japan, featured Yoon's disciplinary action as the top international news article that day. According to the report, the disciplinary action requested by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae was decided as a two-month suspension by the Ministry of Justice Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee, and President Moon Jae-in approved it, marking the first disciplinary action against a Korean Prosecutor General.

Yomiuri reported that criticism that the Moon Jae-in administration undermined prosecutorial independence is inevitable and introduced the fact that Minister Choo expressed her intention to resign.

Yomiuri detailed the background of the unusually lengthy disciplinary committee deliberations, Yoon’s side’s stance on the disciplinary decision, and the process of Minister Choo reporting the committee’s resolution to the Blue House. It then analyzed that this disciplinary action inevitably deals a blow to the Moon administration as well.

Yomiuri cited a Gallup Korea public opinion poll released on the 11th, noting that President Moon’s approval rating dropped to a record low of 38% since his inauguration, and pointed out that the decision to discipline Yoon was likely because "the prosecution judged that if it investigated the current administration’s corruption, prosecutorial reform could be frustrated."

The newspaper also reported that Yoon is known as a "principled investigator" who ordered thorough investigations around former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, a close aide to President Moon, leading to his resignation, and that there are criticisms that this disciplinary action aims to exclude Yoon from leading investigations into the current administration.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that the disciplinary decision against Yoon marked a turning point in the fierce conflict between the Moon Jae-in administration and the prosecution.

In a commentary attached to an article about the Moon administration disciplining Yoon for undermining neutrality, Asahi explained that a major influence on President Moon’s determination to reduce prosecutorial investigative powers through prosecutorial reform was the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun, who was under prosecution investigation for family bribery issues.

Asahi introduced President Moon’s remarks at the Cabinet meeting he presided over at the Blue House on the 15th, where he said, "The prosecution has long held absolute power but has not taken responsibility for wrongdoing, and there has been no way to hold it accountable, making it a sanctuary," and added, "The establishment of the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office (Public Officials Corruption Investigation Office, POCO) to check the prosecution is significant as a democratic control measure."

However, the newspaper noted that the Korean public’s view of the Moon administration, which is committed to prosecutorial reform, is severe, citing the sharp drop of President Moon’s approval rating to the high 30% range.

In addition, other major Japanese newspapers such as Mainichi, Nihon Keizai, and Tokyo Shimbun also prominently covered the news of Yoon’s disciplinary action on their international pages.

Especially, the right-leaning Sankei Shimbun unusually published an editorial criticizing the Moon administration.

In an editorial titled "The Moon Administration’s Attack on the Prosecution... Undermining the Foundation of the Rule of Law?", Sankei claimed that the disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon was "an attack on the rule of law by the administration."

Sankei wrote that although Minister Choo cited reasons such as "illegal collection of judges’ personal information" for requesting the disciplinary action, the evidence is weak, and it appears to be aimed at halting investigations into allegations related to the Moon administration that Yoon had been pursuing.

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