hankyoreh

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae meet at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on Dec. 1. (photo pool)

Deputy Minister of Justice Koh Ki-young, who had been scheduled to take Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s place chairing a disciplinary committee, which is deliberating over disciplinary action against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, submitted his letter of resignation in protest of the disciplinary measures.

Koh reportedly expressed his intent to resign on Nov. 30 after his suggestion to Choo that the disciplinary action against Yoon should be withdrawn was not accepted. Koh’s resignation means that a disciplinary committee meeting originally scheduled for Dec. 2 has been pushed back to Dec. 4. Choo now finds herself fighting a lone battle amid the outcry from Assistant Prosecutor General (acting Prosecutor General) Cho Nam-kwan, her closest ally among the prosecution leadership, and Koh, a key adviser. But she appears poised to forge ahead with the disciplinary procedures against Yoon after the appointment of a successor to the deputy justice minister.

Normally, the Minister of Justice chairs the Ministry of Justice disciplinary committee. But because Choo is the party who requested disciplinary action against Yoon in this case, she is to be absent from the committee and cannot preside over its meetings. Originally, Koh was scheduled to take over for Choo and conduct the meeting as the committee’s chair. But his resignation made it effectively impossible to hold the meeting on Dec. 2 as scheduled. While Choo has the option of appointing another committee member as its chair, this would create too large a political burden because the MOJ’s own second-in-command has objected to the disciplinary action.

On Dec. 1, the MOJ said it planned to “quickly appoint a successor to the deputy vice minister following his resignation.” This signals that it plans to go ahead with the disciplinary committee meeting after Koh’s successor has been appointed.

The head of the MOJ’s prosecution bureau, Shim Jae-cheol, participates as what amounts to an ex officio member of the disciplinary committee, but finds himself hampered by a controversy over eligibility. The list of disciplinary committee members is confidential, but includes four from among the prosecutors (the justice minister, deputy justice minister, and two prosecutors appointed by the justice minister) and three outside members (an attorney commissioned by the minister, a professor of law, and another figure judged to have abundant scholarship and experience).

Customarily, committee members appointed by the justice minister from among active prosecutors have been the director of the MOJ prosecution bureau and a chief prosecutor from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office (SPO). But Shim is the whistleblower who disclosed a document about “analyzing judges’ political leanings,” which served as an allegation behind Yoon’s suspension and the request for disciplinary action against him. Thus, some are arguing that Shim should be excluded from the disciplinary committee. On Nov. 30, Yoon’s team requested that the MOJ disclose its list of disciplinary committee members so that it could petition for Shim’s recusal.

Three prosecutors appointed by the justice minister may be placed on standby as reserve committee members in the case of a regular member’s nonattendance. This means they can be called upon to take the place of the deputy justice minister and the prosecution bureau director should they are absent from the committee. But with the MOJ prosecutorial committee and a Seoul court ruling raising questions about the appropriateness of Yoon’s suspension and disciplinary action against him, the MOJ’s disciplinary committee is unlikely to vote for severe punishment for Yoon. Amid an escalation of the situation with the collective outcry from prosecutors, a failure to produce disciplinary action against Yoon will inevitably lead to louder calls to hold Choo responsible.

The embattled Choo met with Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on the morning of Dec. 1 before heading to the Blue House for a meeting with President Moon Jae-in. Ruling Democratic Party figures said Choo had volunteered to meet with the president for a “situation report.” This suggests her aim was to persuade the Blue House that she intends to replace the deputy justice minister and achieve a breakthrough in the situation following Koh’s resignation.

While Moon’s response to hearing Choo’s situation report was not shared, the Blue House’s consternation has been apparent. The situation is serious enough to have sparked speculation about both resigning, but is not in a position to simply stand by and watch Choo resign after being left to twist in the wind. A key Blue House official said, “The meeting with the President lasted for around 10 minutes, and there was no discussion there of a simultaneous resignation of Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl.” Another Blue House official said, “We see prosecutorial reforms as potentially being a lost cause if the disciplinary action against Yoon fails. This week could see the final deciding battle for prosecutorial reforms.”

But the situation is not favorable for throwing full-scale support behind Choo. With an overwhelming majority of high-ranking prosecution officials washing their hands of the situation, it is very likely that an outside figure will be tapped to fill the position of deputy justice minister who will take up the poisoned chalice to discipline Yoon. Even if the disciplinary committee meeting does take place on Dec. 4, observers are divided in their predictions on whether the disciplinary measures against Yoon would be implemented.

A Democratic Party insider explained, “One of the reported reasons for the disciplinary committee meeting being pushed back from Dec. 2 was apparently the possibility that outside committee members might not attend, which means they might not have the quorum they need for a motion.”

“My understanding is that there aren’t any prosecutors that Choo trusts with [the vote on disciplinary action against Yoon],” the source added.

Chung also met separately with Choo ahead of her meeting with Moon that day, sources reported. A source with the Office of the Prime Minister explained, “Prime Minister Chung summoned Minister Choo to meet in person and talk about reports that had already surfaced about a ‘simultaneous resignation [with Yoon],’ and there was no one else in attendance.”

“While they may not have made any direct mention [of a resignation], I think the message may have been conveyed without words,” the source suggested.

But the same day, Choo reaffirmed that she had no intention of stepping down.

“I reported on the situation to the prime minister, and I will say that there was no discussion whatsoever of resignation during my report to the president or my meeting with the prime minister as has been reported in certain articles,” she said.

By Kim Tae-gyu, Lee Wan, and Kim Won-chul, staff reporters

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]