Judiciary Committee Raises Voice for 'Prosecution Reform'... Choo Mi-ae Says "Will Correct the Undermining of Inspection"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae described the allegations of obstruction of inspection regarding former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's case by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol as "inspection neutralization" and stated, "Correction is necessary, and corrective measures will be taken."

On the morning of the 18th, Minister Choo attended the full meeting of the Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly and responded to a question from Kim Yong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "The prosecution itself justified appointing an external person as the head of the inspection department to ensure neutrality, and it is unacceptable to neutralize that."

Earlier, the prosecution assigned the allegations of forced testimony by the investigation team of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's case to the Human Rights Department instead of the Inspection Department, citing that the disciplinary statute of limitations had expired. When criticized for neutralizing the inspection, they also issued a rebuttal.

Regarding this, Minister Choo said, "This matter is a serious issue where the media and prosecution colluded to dig up misconduct of a specific person and threatened individuals related to the case. A supporting recording was presented, so fundamentally, it is an inspection matter. However, the action to stop the inspection after claiming to have reviewed the entire recording and to order the Human Rights Department to verify the facts is something I also consider inappropriate."

She continued, "Even if the prosecution office is under the command and supervision of the Prosecutor General, inspection is a check-and-balance device to prevent any unfairness that may occur in the execution of various tasks. The fact that the commanding authority destroyed it themselves is serious. I asked the prosecution to become the subject of reform, but this matter reveals a significant concern that it could become the object of reform, which I take very seriously."

Additionally, when Democratic Party member Park Beom-gye asked if the current inspection system might be hollowed out, Minister Choo replied, "If operated like this, it is inspection in name only." Regarding reports that fellow inmates of Han Man-ho, a key witness in former Prime Minister Han's case and former CEO of Hanshin Construction, were frequently summoned for investigations not only by the department in charge of the former Prime Minister's case but also by Room 935, the Financial Investigation Department, she said, "This should never happen," and added, "It must be investigated, of course."

On the same day, Judiciary Committee members eagerly advocated the necessity of prosecutorial reform. Democratic Party member So Byung-chul pressed Minister Choo, saying, "The speed of prosecutorial reform is slow." So pointed out, "The essence of inspection is independence and transparency, but what is happening now is ridiculous. It seems like Minister Choo is hesitating on reform," to which Minister Choo responded, "I do not think I have appeared to hesitate."

Democratic Party member Song Ki-heon also criticized, "Even someone like the Minister, when working with prosecutors, might be tamed by them," pointing out that it took two and a half months to seize the mobile phone of a current prosecutor involved in a collusion scandal between prosecutors and the media. Minister Choo replied, "That is an exaggeration," adding, "There must be grounds for a search and seizure. Please do not belittle the seriousness of the work through your questions."

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