Justice minister seeks discipline for two prosecutors over courtroom walkout

Seoul, August 14 - Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho has called for disciplinary action against two prosecutors who walked out of a high-profile perjury trial in protest of what they deemed unfair court proceedings, according to the Justice Ministry. This follows an internal investigation into four prosecutors from the Suwon District Prosecutors Office who abruptly left a pretrial hearing in November 2025, after the court denied their request to call witnesses.

Prior to leaving, the group submitted a motion to remove the court judge, alleging unfair proceedings. Two of the prosecutors have since resigned and have been given warnings by the minister, while disciplinary proceedings will now proceed against the other two, the ministry announced. The walkout took place during the trial of Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, who was sentenced to four months in prison in 2024 for providing false testimony to parliament about being offered food and alcohol by prosecutors during interrogations.

Lee alleged that prosecutors used these perks to force false incriminating statements against then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae Myung, who was embroiled in an alleged illegal remittance to North Korea in 2019. In response to the courtroom walkout, President Lee Jae Myung ordered a thorough investigation into the prosecutors. Although a Supreme Prosecutors Office inspection committee concluded in April that disciplinary action would be challenging, the Justice Ministry proceeded with its request based on its own internal findings.

The final sanctions will be decided by the ministry's disciplinary committee, chaired by Minister Jung.