{
  "id": 864826,
  "title": "Justice minister seeks discipline for two prosecutors over courtroom walkout",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/justice-minister-seeks-discipline-for-two-prosecutors-over-courtroom-864826",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-14T11:42:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20260814/justice-minister-seeks-discipline-for-two-prosecutors-over-courtroom-walkout"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Minister Jung Sung-ho has called for disciplinary action against two prosecutors who left a high-profile perjury trial in protest of what they believed were unfair court proceedings, according to the justice ministry. This follows an internal investigation into four prosecutors from the Suwon District Prosecutors Office who suddenly left a pretrial hearing in November 2025 after the court declined their request to bring in witnesses. The team had previously submitted a motion to bar the judge on the grounds of unfair proceedings. So far, two of the prosecutors have resigned and been reprimanded by the minister, while disciplinary measures are ongoing for the remaining two. The walkout took place during the trial of Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province. Lee had been given a four-month prison sentence in 2024 for falsely testifying that prosecutors had offered him and a businessman food and alcohol during interrogations, in an attempt to coerce false statements implicating then-President Lee Jae Myung.",
  "summary": "Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho has requested disciplinary action against two prosecutors who stormed out of a high-profile perjury trial in protest of allegedly unfair court proceedings last year, the ministry said Friday. The move follows an internal inspection into four prosecutors of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office who abruptly left a pretrial hearing after the court rejected their…",
  "key_points": [
    "Minister Jung Sung-ho seeks discipline for two prosecutors.",
    "Two prosecutors resigned after November 2025 pretrial hearing walkout.",
    "Disciplinary measures ongoing for remaining two prosecutors."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The justice minister's move signals a tougher stance on prosecutorial conduct, indicating that walking out in protest will not be tolerated without facing disciplinary consequences.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}