Choo Mi-ae: "Though Sometimes Taken Aback by Prosecutors' Response, I Will Not Be Defeated"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 29th, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae said about the prosecution's response to her orders, "There are times when I am taken aback by attempts to nullify my commands, but I will not be broken."

In a post on Facebook that morning, Minister Choo stated, "Unchecked power is like a runaway train," adding, "That runaway inevitably results in harm to the people. This is why the civilian government emphasizes democratic control and prosecution reform."

Minister Choo claimed, "I emphasized the urgency of quarantine and tracing infection routes, and issued general instructions for active search and seizure. However, the prosecution ignored my orders and twice rejected warrants requested by the police at those critical moments," adding, "As a result, timely search and seizure could not be conducted, making it difficult to recover data through CCTV."

She interpreted the recent conflict between herself and the prosecution as a "difference in command between a minister with a prosecutor background and a civilian minister." She said, "To be honest, the years of silently bowing to the commands of prosecutor ministers are not 30 years but 60 years," and added, "The civilian minister’s role includes correcting forced investigations, unrelated investigations, and human rights violations to protect the people. These are usually matters that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office finds uncomfortable."

Minister Choo reiterated the need for democratic control over the prosecution, saying, "Legally, it is the 'Ministry of Justice-affiliated prosecution office,' but in reality, it is the 'Prosecution-affiliated Ministry of Justice.'

She added, "There may also be efforts to lose the momentum of prosecution reform by attacking me," and wrote, "My role is to carry prosecution reform across the irreversible river of Korean history. We will never return to the past when the prosecution and the law protected power instead of the weak. I will stand at the forefront of that."

Earlier, on the 25th, Minister Choo criticized Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl regarding the perjury coaching allegations related to the investigation team of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, saying, "Half of my orders were cut out."

She also pointed out that in early February, at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the prosecution did not follow her instructions to "respond strongly with forced investigations such as search and seizure."

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