Published : Nov. 18, 2020 - 17:45
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae attends a meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday to choose two final candidates for the top post of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. (Yonhap)
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Wednesday ordered an inspection into Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, escalating monthslong tensions between the two.
Two junior prosecutors from the Justice Ministry’s internal inspection team reportedly visited the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday and requested a face-to-face meeting with the top prosecutor, only to be rejected. They were trying to schedule a questioning session over allegations against Yoon involving his family and a meeting with the owners of leading media firms.
The prosecutors’ office expressed regret that no prior consultations had taken place, and sent them back to the ministry.
It said it would give a written response if the investigators stated the allegations and asked for an explanation, in accordance with proper procedures.
Earlier this month, the prosecution launched a probe into Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, who is accused of accepting bribes last year in disguise as sponsorship money through her firm Covana Contents, an art exhibition operator, from companies that were under probe by the prosecution.
The justice minister urged prosecutors to move promptly in the case while asking Yoon to stay away from the investigation.
Also, a civic group has accused the top prosecutor of having met with the owners of the Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo newspapers when he headed the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in an attempt to further his political ambitions.
In October Choo directed the launch of an inspection into a 2018 decision by the Seoul prosecution office, made when Yoon led the organization, to drop charges against hedge fund Optimus Asset Management, which had solicited about 1.2 trillion won ($1.01 billion) from investors.
By Park Han-na (
hnpark@heraldcorp.com)