Joo Ho-young: "'Moon Administration Legal Officials' Agreed... But Ruling Party Pushes Ahead with High Prosecutors' Office Reform"

Press Conference Held to Reveal Behind-the-Scenes of 'Ruling and Opposition Negotiations'
"Accepted Candidates Recommended by Bar Association, Proposed by Ruling Party, and Suggested by Chairman Park, but Not Approved"
"Ignoring Negotiations, Kim Jin-wook and Jeon Hyun-jung, Who Vetoed Opposition, Are Being Selected... Recommendations Should Start from Scratch"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, explained the negotiation process between the ruling and opposition floor leaders regarding the candidate for the head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) on the 13th, stating, "The Democratic Party of Korea did not accept even those who were appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration." He claimed that the ruling party forcibly amended the HOCI Act, ignoring the opposition's consent, to appoint a HOCI head that suited their preferences.

On the afternoon of the same day, Joo held an emergency press briefing at the National Assembly and said, "Since the launch of the HOCI head recommendation committee, behind-the-scenes negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties for selecting a candidate have been ongoing, and Speaker Park Byeong-seok has actively mediated efforts to create a candidate acceptable to both parties."

Joo explained, "The People Power Party never blocked discussions on selecting the HOCI head to prevent the HOCI Act. We approached negotiations with an open attitude, stating that if there was a suitable candidate among those preferred by the Blue House and the ruling party, we would agree, and we even expressed willingness to accept some individuals. In particular, among the candidates recommended by the HOCI head recommendation committee, including those recommended by the Korean Bar Association, we indicated agreement to two candidates."

He also mentioned that they were willing to agree to two deputy minister-level legal officials appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration, but received a response that only one of them did not consent.

Joo said, "At that time, Floor Leader Kim Tae-nyeon said, 'The Blue House is reluctant to accept candidates with a prosecutor background,' and since the HOCI symbolizes prosecution reform, they inquired about candidates with a judicial background. Therefore, the People Power Party proceeded with further discussions on the premise of accepting judicial candidates, and we expressed willingness to accept several candidates recommended by Floor Leader Kim."

He added, "We agreed to many candidates proposed by Speaker Park, but the Democratic Party did not accept them. We tried to select a HOCI head who guarantees political neutrality and can fairly supervise prosecutors. What we opposed was the birth of an incompetent and biased HOCI."

Joo stated, "Since the ruling party has started a formal procedure to forcibly appoint a HOCI head that suits their preferences, I judged that part of the negotiation details should now be disclosed. The Blue House and the Democratic Party are ignoring the entire negotiation process between the ruling and opposition parties and are preparing to appoint the candidate they initially selected as the HOCI head."

He specifically mentioned lawyer Jeon Hyun-jung, recommended by Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, and Kim Jin-wook, senior researcher at the Constitutional Court recommended by the Korean Bar Association, saying, "They were recommended and voted on by the HOCI head recommendation committee but were vetoed by the opposition. It is clear that these candidates were rejected by the opposition. We need to restart the recommendation process from scratch, including various candidates discussed by both parties and those proposed by Speaker Park."

Joo warned, "If the recommendation committee, without such efforts, selects candidates already rejected as nominees under the Blue House's direction, it will face public resistance and be legally invalid. Is it normal to rush to change the law to fill the HOCI with a head and prosecutors who suit the regime's tastes but lack capability and are biased?"

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