Prosecutor General Yoon's Side: "Cannot Neglect Rule of Law... Not Opposing the President" (Comprehensive)

Yoon Seok-yeol Prosecutor General's representatives Lee Seok-woong (from left), Lee Wan-gyu, and Son Kyung-sik attended the hearing for the injunction application against Yoon's '2-month suspension' disciplinary action at the Seoul Administrative Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd, responding to reporters' questions. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The hearing for the injunction request to suspend the effect of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's '2-month suspension' disciplinary action concluded two hours after it began. Yoon's side mentioned the urgent necessity of suspending the disciplinary action but stated that they are not opposing the appointing authority, the President.

The Administrative Division 12 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Hong Soon-wook) started the hearing at 2 p.m. on the 22nd and finished at 4:16 p.m. The court decided to hold another hearing session at 3 p.m. on the 24th.

Yoon's representatives, lawyers Lee Wankyu and Lee Seok-woong, and the Ministry of Justice side, lawyer Lee Ok-hyung, attended the closed hearing. After the hearing, lawyer Lee Wankyu told reporters, "We stated that there is damage that fundamentally undermines the political neutrality and independence of the prosecution and seriously infringes on the rule of law in this country, so we cannot leave this infringement of the rule of law unattended even for a moment. Therefore, we emphasized the urgent need to promptly restore this situation."

He added, "This case is not only a personal issue of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol but also a fundamental issue connected to the entire national system, that is, the political neutrality of the prosecution and the rule of law."

However, he firmly denied the accusation that they are opposing the President. Lawyer Lee said, "Prosecutor General Yoon has never opposed the prosecution reforms promoted by the government, and he is not opposing the appointing authority, the President." He continued, "We are trying to nullify the effect of the disciplinary action that stigmatized the Prosecutor General as a corrupt public official through illegal and unjust procedures. There is absolutely no intention to ignore or belittle the President's personnel authority."

Regarding the continuation of the hearing, when asked by reporters, "Is it because there are many conflicting points due to differing claims?" he explained, "The court decided not to end the hearing and to hold another session at 3 p.m. on the 24th. The court also felt that further examination was necessary, so both sides will prepare and have another hearing."

Meanwhile, lawyer Lee Ok-hyung, the legal representative of the Ministry of Justice, said upon attending the court, "Since the nature of the disciplinary action is different from the previous case (the injunction request for suspension of duty exclusion), it inevitably differs." This seems to emphasize that the suspension of duty exclusion, which was granted an injunction, was a temporary measure before the disciplinary action, whereas this case involves a situation where the President's approval has already been completed.

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