DISCIPLINARY MEETING ON YOON SEOK-YOUL

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The justice ministry has notified Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl of its plan to hold a disciplinary meeting for him this week as scheduled. Yoon has vowed to do his best to defend himself. Meanwhile, various civic groups issued statements on the escalating conflict between the justice minister and the prosecutor general.

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The justice ministry again sent the prosecutor general a notice about its plan to hold a disciplinary meeting against him. It's scheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. The notification indicates the ministry's push to hold the meeting as scheduled, despite opposition from prosecutors. Yoon's side is doing all it can to prepare for the hearing, now only days away. His lawyers asked the ministry to disclose the list of members on the disciplinary panel and details of its internal audit. They stressed Yoon was appointed after a Cabinet review and a parliamentary confirmation hearing and that due procedures must be taken when deciding his fate. For this the Constitutional Court has begun reviewing the legitimacy of Yoon's appeal against the justice minister's order to suspend him. The key to this process is time. It remains to be seen whether the court will be able to deliver an injunction decision by tomorrow. Yoon and his lawyers are known to be coming up with strategies, including a posisble lawsuit against any disciplinary action. Various civic groups have spoken out about the issue. An organization of nearly 4,000 Catholic priests and officials, including archbishops Yoon Gong-hee and Kim Hee-jung, issued a statement criticizing Yoon as the largest obstacle to reforming the prosecution. They called on the prosecution to give up its exclusive authority and go through the pain of rebirth and restore its honor. Ten Seoul National University professors, meanwhile, stressed the importance of checks and balances, saying the current conflict between the minister and top prosecutor is a result of the government's push to tame the prosecution.