▲ Former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young
The disciplinary decision regarding Suwon District Prosecutors' Office prosecutors involved in the mass walkout incident during the perjury trial of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young has been delayed.
On the 15th, the Ministry of Justice notified the subjects of the disciplinary action, former Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 6 Heads Kim Hyun-woo and Seo Hyun-wook, that the Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee date originally scheduled for today has been postponed.
The Ministry of Justice Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee had planned to summon Senior Prosecutors Kim and Seo on this day to hear statements regarding whether they reported to superiors prior to filing a motion for the recusal of the judges, and to deliberate on the disciplinary action request agenda.
The Prosecutor Disciplinary Committee consists of a total of nine members, including the Minister of Justice as chairperson, the Vice Minister of Justice, two prosecutors, and five private sector members such as lawyers and law professors.
The decision on whether to discipline, the type, and the level of discipline is made by a majority vote of the attending members.
If the disciplinary committee resolves a reprimand, the head of the prosecutors' office to which the prosecutor belongs executes the disposition.
Dismissal, removal from office, suspension, or salary reduction are executed by the President, the appointing authority, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, and the fact of the disciplinary disposition is published in the Official Gazette.
Previously, then-Minister of Justice Sungho requested a reprimand disciplinary action against Senior Prosecutors Kim and Seo on August 14, holding them responsible for commanding the mass walkout incident.
On November 25 of last year, four trial prosecutors from the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office stated their intention to file a motion for the recusal of the judges and left the courtroom during a preparatory hearing for the trial of former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young on charges including violations of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly, held at the Suwon District Court.
This was because they could not comply with unfair trial management, such as the dismissal of the prosecution's witness application.
President Lee Jae-myung expressed concern and regret the next day, calling it an "act disrupting court order," and ordered a swift and strict inspection and investigation.
Although the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Committee concluded in April that it was difficult to discipline the matter, the Ministry of Justice underwent a separate inspection, recognized misconduct such as the violation of the obligation to report in advance regarding the motion for recusal of the judges, and recommended discipline.
However, among the four prosecutors subject to inspection, then-Suwon District Prosecutors' Office First Deputy Chief Kim Hyun-a and Second Deputy Chief Lee Sung-beom, who had already submitted their resignations, ended up with a ministerial warning disposition.
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