Park Sang-yong calls indefinite extension an abuse of the justice minister's authority
By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business
The Justice Ministry said Sunday that the suspension of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office deputy chief prosecutor Park Sang-yong would remain in effect until the disciplinary committee issues its ruling, in accordance with the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act. Park, who has been accused of attempting to influence witness testimony during the investigation into Ssangbangwool's alleged payments to North Korea, had argued that the indefinite extension of his suspension constituted an abuse of the justice minister's authority.
The ministry said the extension of Park's duty suspension was a lawful procedure under Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act, which allows the justice minister to order a disciplinary suspect to cease performing official duties when the minister deems it necessary.
"The misconduct of the disciplinary suspect does not amount to a mere provision of conveniences to parties involved in a case or a simple regulatory violation," the ministry said. "The misconduct is serious in nature — it involved repeatedly violating due process in order to obtain testimony needed during the investigation of a specific case, conducting investigations into unrelated cases to pressure suspects, and making statements to a suspect's defense counsel that could cast doubt on the fairness of the investigation."
The ministry added that the justice minister had determined that allowing Park to continue performing prosecutorial duties — including conducting investigations and handling cases — posed a significant risk of negatively affecting the perceived fairness of prosecutorial work and the trust of those involved in the cases. "Following the acting prosecutor general's disciplinary request, the duty suspension was lawfully ordered on May 29 under Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act while disciplinary proceedings were underway," the ministry said.
The ministry also said that while the relevant provision places no limit on the duration of a duty suspension, the suspension is not indefinite in practice. "It typically remains in effect until the Justice Ministry's disciplinary committee issues its ruling on the disciplinary suspect," the ministry said, adding that past cases had followed the same approach — when a prosecutor general filed a disciplinary request while a suspension was already in place, the justice minister continued the suspension through the committee's ruling. The ministry said disciplinary proceedings against Park would be conducted fairly and in compliance with applicable laws and procedures.
Earlier, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office human rights violations task force investigated allegations that Park, while working at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in May 2023 on the Ssangbangwool North Korea payments case, provided salmon and alcohol to former Gyeonggi Province vice governor for peace Lee Hwa-young and former Ssangbangwool chairman Kim Sung-tae.
Attorney Seo Min-seok, a former defense counsel for Lee, visited the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office task force on April 6 and submitted a recording in which he alleged that Park had attempted to influence his testimony. Seo said the recording had not been fabricated or spliced together.
Acting Prosecutor General Gu Ja-hyeon requested a duty suspension the same day under Article 8, Paragraph 3 of the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act. The ministry, finding it inappropriate for Park to continue his duties given the nature of the alleged misconduct, ordered a two-month suspension.
That provision allows the prosecutor general to request that the justice minister order a duty suspension for a prosecutor under investigation on grounds that could warrant dismissal, removal or suspension from duty, when a disciplinary request is anticipated and continuing to perform duties would be clearly inappropriate.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced on May 12 that it had confirmed three violations of investigative procedure: improperly demanding a confession through a defense attorney, failing to prepare a record of investigative proceedings after summoning a detainee for questioning, and providing food or visitation privileges without legitimate grounds.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said it had referred Park's case to the Justice Ministry for disciplinary action following a review by its audit committee, requesting a suspension — a form of serious disciplinary punishment. However, it added that it had chosen not to seek punishment for two additional matters — failing to prevent alcohol from being brought in and provided due to inadequate oversight, and unnecessarily summoning a witness for repeated questioning — out of respect for the audit committee's deliberations.
The Justice Ministry sent an official notice to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and other relevant agencies on May 28, informing them that Park's duty suspension would be extended from June 6 until further notice. In response, Park filed a petition with the People's Complaints Portal on May 29, demanding the extension be withdrawn and calling it an abuse of the justice minister's authority.
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