Ahn Cheol-soo: "We Will Pursue Impeachment of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae"

Announcement of 7 Major Judicial Justice Pledges
Abolition of Prosecution Authority of the Corruption Investigation Office and Reallocation of Police and Prosecutor Investigation Rights
"Establishment of a Specialized Investigation Unit in the Ministry of Justice and Permanent Special Prosecutor System"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, the preparatory committee chairman of the People’s Party (tentative name), announced on the 11th that abolishing the prosecution authority of the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) and pushing for the impeachment of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae would be election pledges for the general election.

On the same day, Chairman Ahn held a press conference at the National Assembly Press Hall and stated, “The core of judicial justice is depoliticization and checks and balances among investigative and prosecutorial agencies. For this, judicial institutions must be liberated from dependence on the Blue House,” presenting seven practical measures for judicial justice.

Regarding the amendment of the HOCI Act and adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police, he said, “HOCI must be free from presidential influence. To this end, the appointment procedure of the HOCI chief needs to be thoroughly reviewed,” emphasizing, “The authority allowing HOCI to request transfer of cases under investigation by other investigative agencies should be deleted, and HOCI’s prosecution authority must be abolished.”

He continued, “It is appropriate to transfer the police’s authority to conclude investigations to the prosecution,” adding, “The authority to initiate investigations should be granted only to the police and specialized investigative agencies, and the prosecution’s authority to initiate investigations and conduct direct investigations must be completely abolished. We will abolish intelligence police, separate administrative police from investigative police, and implement police reforms such as centralizing the 112 emergency call system.”

Chairman Ahn also pledged to establish specialized investigative units outside the police under the Ministry of Justice for professional investigations, and to institutionalize special prosecutors appointed by the legislature and the Minister of Justice. Furthermore, he announced policies to expel political prosecutors and judges and to ban former justices of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court from practicing law to eradicate preferential treatment for former officials.

Regarding allegations of the Blue House’s interference in the Ulsan mayoral election, Chairman Ahn said, “In the 21st National Assembly, we will cooperate with opposition parties to hold a hearing to investigate the Blue House’s election interference and push for the impeachment of Minister Choo,” adding, “We will uncover the truth behind the Ulsan mayoral election interference case that violated democracy and hold Minister Choo accountable for manipulating prosecution personnel to obstruct this investigation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.