Yoon Seok-yeol's 'Prosecutor General Disciplinary Cancellation Lawsuit' to Begin Second Trial Next Month

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and Archbishop Jeong Soon-taek of the Seoul Archdiocese are having a tea meeting on the morning of the 30th at the Catholic Seoul Archdiocese Office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by the Transition Committee Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The second trial court's hearing to determine whether the two-month suspension disciplinary action imposed by the Ministry of Justice on President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol during his tenure as Prosecutor General was justified will begin next month.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 1-1 (Presiding Judges Shim Jun-bo, Kim Jong-ho, Lee Seung-han) will hold the first preparatory hearing for the appeal trial of the disciplinary action cancellation lawsuit filed by President-elect Yoon against the Minister of Justice on the afternoon of the 19th of next month.

President-elect Yoon received a two-month suspension disciplinary action from the Ministry of Justice in December 2020 while serving as Prosecutor General. The Ministry of Justice cited a total of six disciplinary reasons, and the Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee recognized four: ▲ the creation and distribution of documents alleging surveillance of major case trial courts by the Investigation Information Policy Office of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office ▲ obstruction of the Channel A case inspection ▲ obstruction of the Channel A case investigation ▲ violation of political neutrality as a prosecutor.

In response, former Prosecutor General Yoon filed for a suspension of execution with the court and filed a substantive lawsuit, claiming that the disciplinary reasons were factually incorrect and that the disciplinary procedures were illegal and unfair.

The first trial ruled against the plaintiff. The court stated, "The recognized disciplinary reasons constitute serious misconduct that undermines the legality and fairness of prosecutorial duties," and judged, "Since disciplinary actions of dismissal or higher are possible for these reasons, a two-month suspension is lighter than the lower limit set by the sentencing standards."

President-elect Yoon also filed an administrative lawsuit against the suspension of duty order issued by the Ministry of Justice prior to the disciplinary action. The lawsuit to cancel the suspension of duty order was dismissed in the first trial, and President-elect Yoon appealed, with the first appeal trial scheduled at the Seoul High Court.

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