SEOUL—Prosecutor General Lee One-seok has officially declined to attend a parliamentary hearing scheduled for this week, which will consider a petition for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The hearing is set against a backdrop of controversy surrounding alleged presidential interference in military proceedings.
According to Yonhap News Agency, In a statement released by his office, Lee communicated his decision to the National Assembly, asserting that his attendance and testimony could potentially compromise ongoing investigations and the political neutrality of the prosecution service. The Prosecutor General emphasized that participating in such a hearing, particularly one that discusses active investigations, would undermine the rule of law by potentially influencing judicial processes and biasing the outcomes of cases under review. This stance comes amid heightened scrutiny of the judiciary's independence in politically sensitive cases.
The hearing itself is driven by accusations of presidential meddling in a military inquiry following the on-duty death of a Marine conscript last year, among other issues, raising significant questions about the separation of powers and the integrity of the judiciary in South Korea.