Ho-jung Yoon "Instructed to inspect Lim Eun-jung to see if she was taking advantage of her position for political action"

“I expressed my opinion sufficiently during the prosecution… It is problematic to repeatedly speak at the Central Investigation Office.”

“We cannot tolerate the prosecution’s wrong practices being brought to the Central Investigation Office.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Cha Min-ji and Hong Jun-seok = Minister of Public Administration and Security Yoon Ho-jung said on the 12th regarding the inspection order for Lim Eun-jeong, head of the Gwangju Regional Serious Crime Investigation Office, "I have given an order to conduct an inspection to determine if he was engaging in political activities using his position."

Minister Yoon explained the background of the inspection order for Commissioner Lim on his way to work that day, saying, "It is not related to my duties, nor is it information acquired in the course of performing my duties. I already expressed my opinion sufficiently when I was at the previous prosecutor's office, but I thought it was problematic that I kept talking about it again and again after taking up my position at the Central Investigation Agency."

He said, "You can express your opinion as much as you want," but asked, "This is an issue that is already being sufficiently discussed in the political world, so what is the meaning of a high-ranking official of the Central Investigation Agency talking about matters related to it?"

Minister Yoon also emphasized that the past practices of the prosecution should not be repeated in the Central Investigation Agency.

Citing the proverb, "When in Rome, follow the Roman law," he pointed out, "According to the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act, senior and junior prosecutors within the Ministry of Justice handled disciplinary matters among themselves, so they were very tolerant of disciplinary action, and it was the practice of the prosecution in the past to tolerate group actions because they could not all be disciplined."

He said, “It is no longer acceptable to carry out such practices even at the Central Investigation Agency,” adding, “This applies not only to Prosecutor Lim Eun-jung, but also to all Central Investigation Agency investigators.”

Regarding how the inspection will be carried out in a situation where the inspector general is vacant, he said, "Although the inspector general position is vacant, it does not mean that there is no inspection department." He added, "I think the Central Investigation Agency will decide how to carry out the related inspection work."

Previously, Minister Yoon ordered an inspection of Commissioner Lim, who had publicly criticized Kim Ji-yong, the first candidate for the head of the Heavy Investigation Service, in a post on his X (old Twitter) the previous day.

At the time, Minister Yoon said, "It seems that Commissioner Lim is mistaken in thinking that the Central Investigation Agency is a political agency rather than an investigative agency," and expressed concern that past wrong practices, such as the prosecution's political intervention and collective action, may be transferred to the Central Investigation Agency.

In response, Commissioner Lim said on Facebook, "It is very unfortunate and saddening that I have become the first inspection target of the Central Investigation Agency," and "I will do my best to deal with it with a sense of duty."