Jin Joong-kwon: "Prosecutors Should Not Resign... We Will Meet as Suspects Anyway"

Choo Mi-ae, "Reform Is the Only Answer" to Prosecutor's "Public Criticism"
"Accept the Resignation of the Coming-Out Prosecutor" Blue House Petition Surpasses 390,000 in Four Days

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon emphasized on the 3rd that prosecutors who publicly criticized Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's exercise of investigative command and inspection rights "should never resign."

On the same day, Jin posted on his Facebook, saying, "'Prosecutorial reform,' accept it coolly. Even they themselves no longer know what it means."

He added, "Anyway, their goal is not prosecutorial reform but to obstruct investigations into power corruption," and said, "I don't know what's left of prosecutorial reform, but let our Mi-ae (Minister Choo) do as she pleases, and just focus on the investigation."

Finally, he pointed out, "My feeling is that eventually, we will all meet as suspects in the investigation room someday, so there is no need to be impatient."

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is responding to questions during the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, Board of Audit and Inspection, Constitutional Court, and Legislation Office held by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 26th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Jin's criticism appears to be aimed at Minister Choo's 'coming out' remark. Earlier, on the 29th of last month, Minister Choo criticized Prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo (43, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 39) of Jeju District Prosecutors' Office, who criticized her via the prosecution's internal network, saying, "If you come out like this, reform is the only answer."

In response, Prosecutor Choi Jae-man (48, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 36) of Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office posted on the internal network, "I share the same thoughts as Prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo, so I also come out," countering Minister Choo.

In his post, he pointed out, "Minister, I cannot help but ask if you think prosecutorial reform means pressuring prosecutors who do not comply with government and Ministry of Justice policies or who do not handle cases in the desired direction to resign."

It is reported that nearly 300 prosecutors supported Choi's post with comments. One prosecutor expressed agreement in a comment, saying, "If it is a whip for the country and the people, I will endure the pain," but also added, "Even though I think it is wrong, following it also feels like a bigger mistake."

Meanwhile, a Blue House public petition calling for the resignation of frontline prosecutors who opposed Minister Choo's exercise of investigative command, personnel authority, and inspection rights gained over 300,000 supporters within four days of posting. As of 1:30 PM on the 3rd, the petition had garnered about 391,700 supporters. The Blue House must soon issue a response as the petition met the 200,000-support threshold required for an official reply.

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