Prosecutor General Yoon's 2nd Hearing on 'Suspension of Disciplinary Action' Begins... Who Will Prevail? (Comprehensive)

Yoon Seok-yeol Prosecutor General's representatives Lee Seok-woong (center), Lee Wan-gyu (left), and lawyer Son Kyung-sik are attending the second hearing on the suspension of disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol at the Seoul Administrative Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 24th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Baek Kyunghwan and Kim Suhwan] The second hearing of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's request for suspension of disciplinary action has begun. As the final showdown between Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon, this hearing is expected to involve a trial equivalent to the main lawsuit.

The Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 12 (Presiding Judge Hong Soon-wook), is conducting the second hearing of Yoon's request for suspension of execution against Minister Chu from 3 p.m. on the 24th. Yoon was absent from the hearing, but his special attorneys Lee Seok-woong, Lee Wankyu, and Son Kyung-sik appeared.

Before the hearing, attorney Lee Seok-woong told reporters, "We responded specifically about what constitutes urgent and irreparable harm, what urgent necessity means, and what it means not to be against public welfare." He added, "We submitted about three written responses and also sent them to the Ministry of Justice."

Attorney Lee Ok-hyung appeared on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Before attending, he stated, "Regarding procedural defects, I explained that there are none," and expressed the position that "there are sufficient grounds for disciplinary action."

Earlier, both the Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor General Yoon's legal representatives submitted written responses to the additional inquiries requested by the court immediately after the first hearing. After internal discussions, any additional points will be clarified on-site, and it is known that both sides have submitted separate legal materials regarding the disciplinary committee procedures beyond the court's requests.

Lee Ok-hyung, the legal representative of the Ministry of Justice, is attending the second hearing on the injunction application against the disciplinary action of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol at the Seoul Administrative Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 24th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@/Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

After conducting the second hearing, the court is expected to conclude whether to accept Yoon's request for suspension of execution. Depending on the decision, Yoon's return could be determined as early as that day. If the court accepts the suspension request, Yoon can immediately return to his position as Prosecutor General. However, if rejected, Yoon must remain suspended for two months.

In the legal community, it is anticipated that the second hearing will further expand on the issues that will be central to the main lawsuit. This is interpreted as an effort to prevent a situation where the suspension request is dismissed, causing Yoon to be unable to perform his duties for two months and only after completing his term the disciplinary action is canceled, or conversely, where the suspension request is accepted, allowing Yoon to immediately return to duty and complete his term before concluding that the disciplinary action was valid. Presiding Judge Hong Soon-wook also revealed during the first hearing that "this suspension case is virtually no different from the main trial."

Generally, suspension of execution cases do not take long to reach a conclusion. However, since this case involves disciplinary action against a sitting Prosecutor General and the court is examining it broadly, the conclusion might be reached after Christmas. Previously, the provisional injunction decision regarding Yoon's exclusion from duty was made the day after the first hearing.

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