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By Jun Ji-hye
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl appears to be in a dilemma over whether to accept Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's order not to intervene in district prosecutors' probe into a collusion case allegedly involving one of his close aides.
On Monday, Yoon received reports about the results of a marathon meeting that senior prosecutors nationwide carried out Friday to discuss how to respond to Choo's decision to invoke her authority to command the prosecution's investigation.
Yoon is currently organizing his position on the issue and is expected to announce it soon, according to insiders of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
"If Yoon refuses the order issued by the justice minister, their relationship, which has been strained already, will worsen," a lawyer in Seoul said on condition of anonymity. "If the prosecutor general accepts the order, then his leadership will suffer a heavy blow."
In recent weeks, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has been conducting an investigation into allegations of collusion between Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae and senior prosecutor Han Dong-hoon.
Lee and Han were suspected of colluding to pressure a jailed businessman to divulge incriminating information about a liberal political commentator.
As Han is believed to be close to the prosecutor general, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has shown tension with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, with the former demanding more independence in its probe.
The justice minister effectively sided with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Thursday, by ordering the top prosecutor to suspend the convening of an expert advisory panel to review the validity of the investigation, and calling on the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to carry out its probe independently without the intervention of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
Yoon's move to convene the expert advisory panel was seen by his critics as an attempt to derail the investigation into his close aide.
Later in the day, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said there was a consensus in support of the suspension of the expert advisory panel, during the Friday's meeting.
But a majority of the senior prosecutors believed Choo's order that excludes Yoon and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office from the investigation and gives more independence to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office was unjustified and unreasonable, they noted.
Those against the order reportedly claimed that the order could be in violation of the Prosecutors' Office Act that stipulates a prosecutor general's authority to direct and supervise an investigation.
"The senior prosecutors reached a consensus that the prosecution needs to introduce an independent prosecutor in charge of the case," an official from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said.
This is raising likelihood that Yoon could object to Choo's order.
Apparently being aware of the atmosphere inside the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Choo attempted to persuade senior prosecutors to side with her.
"I ask you not to be swayed but to choose the right way for the people," she wrote on Facebook.
If Yoon refuses to accept the justice minister's order, he will be the nation's first top prosecutor to do so.
In 2005, then-Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae issued an order to then-Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin regarding an investigation into accusations a sociology professor at Dongguk University had violated the National Security Act. At the time, Kim accepted the order, and resigned from the post voluntarily.
