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The issue of the execution of expenses for special activities for the Attorney General, raised by Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae, has shifted to the controversy over the payment of stimulus money by the Attorney General of the Ministry of Justice. The Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that since Minister Chu pointed out that the special performance expenses were “ the pocket money of the attorney general, ” it is noted that the details of the execution of the expenses of special functions of the prosecution should be verified with the same criterion. The Justice Ministry dismissed the “legally executed budget” and launched an offensive against President Yoon Suk-yeol again.
According to law enforcement officials on the 22nd, the Attorney General’s Office of the Ministry of Justice paid around 10 million won in stimulus for 500,000 won per person to 20 front-line deputy directors general and senior prosecutors who participated as members of the interview of the ‘Evaluation of the competence of the new fiscal 2021’ on the 14th of last month. Initially, Attorney General Shim Jae-cheol would visit the Yongin branch of the Legal Affairs Training Institute and have lunch with them. However, lunch was canceled and only a stimulus was paid. On the envelope, it was written ‘Sim Jae-cheol’ and ‘research support support’.
It is known that approximately 800,000 to 1 million won are paid in travel and per diem expenses when participating in the interview of a new prosecutor. But this time, a separate stimulus was paid. The Ministry of Justice has not specifically identified the source of the stimulus money, but it is presumed that it was used for special spending. It is reported that about 1 billion won was allocated to the prosecution this year.
The legal profession points out that it is not appropriate to pay special expenses for interviewers who have worked on personnel matters. According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, special expenses are required to be used for information and investigation expenses of cases that require confidentiality. It is explained that the Ministry of Justice was paid with the intention of supporting the business affairs of prosecutors after returning to the main office. However, it is noted that the case is different from the case in which the special expenses were paid directly to the investigation team. A former prosecutor with prosecution experience said: “If the prosecutors who are educating come back, it seems okay to investigate, but it is not a special expense to spend.
Some point out that this controversy is similar to the so-called “ money bag dinner, ” in which President Moon Jae-in ordered a direct inspection. At the time, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Lee Young-ryul and Ahn Tae-geun, the Attorney General of the Ministry of Justice, were fired after paying junior prosecutors a special spending stimulus in April 2017 in a drinking party. After winning the administrative lawsuit, he resigned.
The Justice Ministry refuted: “This time, the comparison with the money bag dinner is distorted because it was not paid for directly by the Attorney General.” However, the prosecution responded that it was more problematic because the incentive was not paid to the investigation team. A prosecutor’s office official in the Seoul area said: “If the problem of special spending executed by the president is the problem, is the stimulus money used by the prosecutor’s office really pocket money?” After the inauguration of Minister Chu, Director Shim has been in charge of the prosecution in the Ministry of Justice after serving as the chief anti-corruption prosecutor and strong prosecutor for the prosecutor.
The Ministry of Justice attacked Yun again while clarifying the controversy. The Justice Ministry said in a statement the day before that “the attorney general has instructed the president on three occasions to report the details of the use of special functions expenses,” the attorney general said, “the cost of the Special performances performed without standards will reach 5 billion won this year.
The Ministry of Justice is also expected to carry out a face-to-face investigation of Yun this week. It is reported that the inspection office of the Ministry of Justice did not communicate with the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office on the 19th after the face-to-face investigation failed. However, there are observations that the Ministry of Justice will try to investigate again, since it has revealed its will that “the prosecution has no sanctuary.” After last week, President Yoon meets with front-line prosecutors and holds a lunch this week.
Reporter Na Seong-won and Heo Gyeong-gu [email protected]
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