Mi-ae Chu and Seok-yeol Yoon fight with their nerves before the disciplinary committee … Ministry of Justice rejects disciplinary list

President Moon Jae-in appointed Lee Yong-gu Vice Minister of Justice on the 2nd. The new Vice Minister Lee was a former judge who served on the court for more than 20 years; In August 2017, he was the first non-prosecutor to be appointed head of the Justice Department of the Ministry of Justice and worked for 2 years and 8 months. Lee’s term begins on day 3. [뉴스1]

With the conflict between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Attorney General Yoon Seok-yeol turning into an irreversible situation, the interest is based on the future actions of Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu (56, 23rd Training Institute and Judicial Investigation).

According to the Ministry of Justice on day 2, the candidate will assume official functions as deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice from day 3. The first task is to complete the disciplinary process of President Yun by leading the Prosecutor’s Office and Discipline Commission, which is will perform on day 4, without noise. It appears that the disciplinary committee took into account that President Moon Jae-in selected the candidate two days after Vice Minister Koki-young took responsibility for the disciplinary lawsuit against President Yoon and the removal from office and expressed gratitude on the 30th. of last month.

According to the Law on the Discipline of the Prosecutor, the Vice Minister of Justice is an ex officio member of the disciplinary committee. The disciplinary committee is made up of a total of 7 members, including the President, Minister Chu, and the Vice Minister, 2 prosecutors appointed by the Minister, and 3 external officials appointed by the Minister. Opening is possible if the majority of the members are present. However, the Ministry of Justice is interpreting that a disciplinary commission cannot be convened while the vice minister is vacant. The head of the prosecutor’s office, Shim Jae-cheol, can act as chairman, but Chairman Yoon said that if Director Shim attends the committee, he plans to run for a challenge on deliberation day.

The nominee participates in the disciplinary committee against Yoon the day after the start of his term. This disciplinary committee is directed to the Attorney General, so Minister Chu, who requested disciplinary action in accordance with the provisions of the Prosecutor’s Disciplinary Law, cannot participate in the disciplinary deliberation against Yoon. However, as long as the resolution is not challenged, the person may participate and the rejection will be decided by a majority of the attendees. If Minister Chu, who is the chairman of the disciplinary committee, is unable to fulfill his duties, a member appointed by the chairman may act on his behalf.

In this situation, it is natural for the Vice Minister to act as acting chairman of the disciplinary commission, but there are observations that, since the Vice Minister has been appointed as Vice Minister, he will not be assigned as chairman in the disciplinary deliberation. An official from the Ministry of Justice also said: “It is not legally necessary for the Vice Minister of Justice to be the president. The minister cannot act as president because he is a disciplinary plaintiff, but the minister can appoint the president from among the committee members.” .

Graphic of the Disciplinary Committee of the Department of Justice [연합뉴스]

Disciplinary action is decided with the approval of the majority of the members present after deliberation, and there is dismissal, dismissal, honesty, downgrades, and reprimands. If a decision is made on severe disciplinary action beyond the pay cut, then Minister Chu proposes disciplinary action to the President and the President reapplies.

On suspicion of the judge’s inspection, Yun is highlighting the injustice of the forced investigation by the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office. The fact that the Ministry of Justice released the investigation reference material and initiated a forced investigation, and for security reasons, did not inform the Deputy Prosecutor Cho Nam-gwan, who was serving as president at the time, of the fact that that the criminal was presented to Mr. Yoon as a “ disclosure box ” is emphasized.

The Supreme Prosecutor also said that when Yoon returned to his normal work that day, “a petition was filed with an objection to the investigation procedure and allegations of human rights violations in connection with the seizure and search of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office.” The investigation will be carried out by the human rights supervisor. During the investigation of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office for Human Rights Policy, if the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office has carried out an investigation by force or has committed an unlawful act, it can be used as a basis for reporting the injustice of a disciplinary complaint.

It is also a problem that the Ministry of Justice refuses to release the list of disciplinary members. Attorney Wan-gyu Lee, a lawyer for President Yoon, said, “In terms of defense rights, it is necessary to disclose information about the disciplinary claim approval document and the membership list.” The Justice Ministry, which refused to release documents and lists on the afternoon of that day, said it would deliver copies of the inspection records to the lawyer on the morning of the 5th.

Reporters Kim Min-sang and Kim Soo-min [email protected]