Choo Mi-ae: "Cannot Deny Excessive Investigation of Cho Kuk's Family"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the 29th, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae acknowledged that there was "excessive and unreasonable investigation" in the prosecution's investigation of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's family.

At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee that day, when Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Dong-geun asked, "There are criticisms that the prosecution's fairness is in doubt regarding the investigation of Cho Kuk's family. What do you think?" Minister Choo responded accordingly.

Minister Choo also said, "Since it is an ongoing investigation, it is difficult to comment," adding, "I am targeting such prosecution investigations for reform and am currently operating a human rights investigation reform task force (TF)."

Minister Choo further mentioned that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl failed to follow the legitimate orders of the Ministry of Justice, causing a missed golden time for COVID-19 quarantine measures.

In February, when the spread of COVID-19 through Shincheonji was at its peak, the minister issued a written order for a search and seizure, but the prosecution did not respond in time.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk asked, "How will you handle it if Prosecutor General Yoon repeatedly fails to comply with the minister's orders?" Minister Choo said, "If the search and seizure of Shincheonji had been conducted in time, we could have secured the list of church members who entered through closed-circuit television (CCTV), but missing the golden time for the search and seizure meant we could not obtain valuable data," adding, "We made a mistake by not implementing quarantine measures in time."

When Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min pointed out, referring to recent public opinion polls about Prosecutor General Yoon, that "executive work following laws and regulations receiving only 50-50 support is a red flag," Minister Choo responded, "That is a sharp observation." When he further noted, "The controversy over excessive prosecution investigations is also a burden, and if the prosecution falls into the controversy of protecting its own members, it will affect the future of the prosecution," Minister Choo replied, "The Prosecutor General is likely listening to the concerns you raised."

However, she opposed the claim that the Prosecutor General should appear directly before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In response to a related question from Open Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jin-ae, Minister Choo said, "(The Prosecutor General's appearance before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee) requires discussion," emphasizing, "Political responsibility for the Prosecutor General lies with the Minister of Justice. The political neutrality of investigative agencies must be guaranteed."

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