Justice Minister Turns Sights on Prosecutor General’s Wife

The Moon administration has been trying to find ways to get Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to resign since he will not go along with covering for corrupt ruling party politicians. This could be another attempt to pressure him to quit by going after his wife:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae ordered the nation’s top prosecutor on Monday to take his hands off the ongoing investigations into a high-profile fund scandal in a move she claims is intended to ensure a “fair” and “independent” probe into those cases.

The unusual order came a day after the justice ministry raised speculation that Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl failed to conduct a thorough investigation into opposition politicians and prosecutors allegedly implicated in the case.

“It is necessary to guarantee a fair and independent investigation into the Lime case and the case involving the prosecutor-general’s family,” Choo said, directing the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office and the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office to not follow Yoon’s orders and only report the results of the investigations to him.

Lime Asset Management Co. is suspected of covering up massive losses and subsequently suspending fund redemption worth an estimated 1.6 trillion won (US$1.39 billion).

Kim Bong-hyun, a key suspect in the case, has alleged that he bribed a former senior aide to President Moon Jae-in, and also lobbied influential opposition politicians and incumbent prosecutors.

“The possibility of the prosecutor-general’s involvement in determining the truth behind the Lime case cannot be completely removed,” Choo said.

The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) responded in a statement that Yoon has “become unable” to orchestrate the investigation into the Lime case.

On the case involving his family, the SPO said Yoon was never involved or briefed on the investigation and therefore had no comment to make.

The prosecution is looking into allegations that Yoon’s wife was involved in manipulating stocks in Deutsch Motors and that her company took bribes disguised as donations.

Choo’s directive calls on the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office to remove a prosecutor and investigator from the team in charge of the Lime case following allegations they were lobbied by Kim.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the people now running the investigation are all allies of Choo Mi-ae, so it is pretty clear how this “investigation” against Yoon’s wife will turn out.

Always remember that Korea is a rule by law country and not a rule of law country.