Yoon Seok-yeol Disciplinary Cancellation Lawsuit Likely to Conclude in September... Witness Examination Completed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The administrative lawsuit surrounding the Ministry of Justice's two-month suspension disciplinary action against former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is expected to conclude next month.

The Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 12 (Chief Judge Jeong Yong-seok), held the second hearing on the 30th for the lawsuit filed by former Prosecutor General Yoon against the Minister of Justice, requesting the cancellation of the disciplinary action, stating, "We will try to conclude the arguments at the hearing on the 16th of next month."

On that day, the court conducted witness examination of Deputy Prosecutor Park Young-jin, who served as the head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office during the investigation of the Channel A reporter's attempted coercion case.

The court announced, "Additional witness requests are not accepted as there appears to be no need for further evidence investigation." This means no more witness examinations will be conducted. Previously, the court did not accept the witness requests for Daejeon District Prosecutor General Noh Jeong-hwan, requested by former Prosecutor General Yoon's side, and Suwon High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-jeong, requested by the Ministry of Justice. However, the court agreed to accept written statements from Prosecutor General Noh and Chief Prosecutor Kim.

Since the court announced it will conclude the arguments at the next hearing, the verdict is expected to be issued between late September and early October at the earliest. Typically, administrative lawsuit rulings are issued 2 to 4 weeks after the conclusion of arguments.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon filed the administrative lawsuit in objection after the Ministry of Justice issued a two-month suspension disciplinary action against him in December last year while he was serving as Prosecutor General. The court accepted Yoon's request for suspension of execution, thus suspending the effect of the disciplinary action until the first trial verdict is delivered.

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