Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Choo-Yoon conflict moving to Moon-Yoon strife
President Moon Jae-in and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl are seen in this combined photograph. Yoon filed a lawsuit to halt a two-month suspension from duty imposed by a justice ministry disciplinary committee and approved by the President. The long-running conflict between Yoon and Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae seems to be shifting into a conflict between Yoon and Moon. Joint press corps
By Kim Rahn
By Kim Rahn
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's lawsuit to halt his two-month suspension from duty is widely interpreted as an act of “disobedience” against President Moon Jae-in after he approved the disciplinary measure imposed by a Ministry of Justice disciplinary committee.
Along with the offer of resignation made by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who pushed for the punishment of Yoon amid their power struggle over prosecutorial reform, now the Choo-Yoon conflict is shifting to a Moon-Yoon conflict.
The committee ― comprised of people selected by Choo ― decided to suspend Yoon from duty for two months, Wednesday, for multiple “ethical and legal misdeeds.” The committee's decision was approved by Moon later in the day. Yoon filed for an injunction with the Seoul Administrative Court, Thursday, to halt the suspension, and another lawsuit to nullify the disciplinary measure.
When Moon approved the punishment, Choo offered to resign, and the President said he would think about whether to accept her resignation. It is widely forecast he will accept it, as Choo's months-long conflict with Yoon has become a political burden for him, and his judiciary reform drive, carried out by Choo, has almost been completed, along with the planned launch of a separate investigative body for corruption cases involving high-profile politicians and public servants.
Although the defendant in Yoon's lawsuit is Justice Minister Choo according to the relevant law, many believe it targets Moon because the President approved the disciplinary measure, which could be cancelled by the administrative court.
“It is a suit to nullify the President's approval, so it is virtually a suit against the President,” Lee Wan-kyu, one of Yoon's lawyers, told reporters, Thursday.
Kang Ki-jung, a former senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said in a radio interview, Thursday, “So far it has been a battle between Yoon and Minister Choo, and now after the President's approval, Yoon will have to fight the President, who appointed him.”
Cheong Wa Dae is drawing a line, out of concern that the criticism of Choo in the course of the disciplinary process could be redirected at the President. It has said the President's approval of the disciplinary committee's decision was only a formality according to the related law and it was not at the President's discretion.
“We don't think Cheong Wa Dae needs to make a comment if Yoon files a suit,” a presidential office official said Wednesday evening after announcing Moon's approval. “The defendant is the justice minister, not the President.”
In the meantime, in deciding whether to accept Yoon's injunction request, the court will consider if his suspension from duty will bring about “irrecoverable damage” and thus should be halted immediately.
“In case of an ordinary public official, damage is usually recovered by payment of salary (for the suspended period of time) if the official wins the suit to annul the disciplinary action. But a salary payment would not recover the damage caused by the two-month suspension of the top prosecutor from duty,” lawyer Lee told reporters. “An investigation can lead to different results according to the instructions of the prosecutor general. Important investigations are ongoing and the prosecution could have some new important ones. How can the country recover from the vacuum left by the top prosecutor for two months?”