Yoon Han-hong "Did they rush the Serious Crime Investigation Agency to oust Yoon Seok-yeol?" vs Park Beom-gye "No relation. Party stance and president's will are not different"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye and Chief Prosecutor Kim Jin-wook of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials are attending the plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, stated that the legislative push for the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (Jungsucheong) is unrelated to the whereabouts of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

On the 16th, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Park responded to a question from Yoon Han-hong, a member of the People Power Party, who asked whether the Ministry of Justice slowed down the legislative push for Jungsucheong after former Prosecutor General Yoon's resignation.

Yoon asked, "Recently, the Ministry of Justice submitted its stance on the Public Prosecution Office and Jungsucheong to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. I saw that it said 'we agree with the direction.' Does that mean you support it?"

Minister Park replied, "The bill has been proposed, and I understand and sympathize with the intent contained in the bill."

Yoon then asked, "However, there was a caveat: 'There is a need to listen to and gather various opinions from members of the prosecution without setting a deadline.' Does that mean you won't do it or that you will proceed slowly?"

Park answered, "I have my thoughts. I cannot discuss everything here, but there are various options. I believe we need to spend ample time refining it to build sufficient public consensus."

Yoon pointed out, "Last time you came, you said, 'The president did not mention slowing down,' and expressed the intention to promptly push forward with the legislation for Jungsucheong. You even said here that if the president's words differ from the party's stance, you would follow the party's stance."

He continued, "But after seeing the Ministry of Justice's opinion yesterday, I am curious whether your thoughts have changed or if something overall has changed."

When Minister Park said, "The president has given various remarks, and most recently, during the Ministry of Justice's work report, the president made a statement," Yoon asked again, "So, if the party's stance differs, will you follow the president's will now?"

Park replied, "I believe this is not a matter of choosing selectively. Ultimately, the party stance I refer to is a legislative policy matter decided by the National Assembly."

Yoon pointed out, "After checking the situation, only one thing has changed. You know what it is? It's that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol resigned."

He added, "The conclusion is this: the bills for the Public Prosecution Office and Jungsucheong, and the plan to abolish the Prosecutors' Office, were nothing but an attempt to 'cut off Yoon Seok-yeol's arms and legs.'"

Yoon said, "After Prosecutor General Yoon resigned, now they say it is not necessary. They will take plenty of time to gather opinions thoroughly. So, in the end, this government, while claiming to reform the prosecution, deprived the prosecution of investigative authority and prevented investigations as part of a series of processes to oust Prosecutor General Yoon. That is the scenario that has emerged."

He emphasized, "They demoted all prosecutors investigating power corruption, and after failing with personnel, discipline, and inspection, they decided to abolish the Prosecutors' Office. They aimed to dismantle the entire prosecution organization. Now that Prosecutor General Yoon is gone, in fact, this law is no longer necessary."

Yoon said, "Minister, your words today that you will take a lot of time to proceed mean you have admitted that it is unnecessary. What I find dangerous is that legislation and laws are being made with a specific person in mind to abolish an organization, which is something that should never happen in a democratic country."

In response, Minister Park said, "I believe the president's opinion and the party stance are not different. I think we share the same direction and will converge in the same way."

He added, "Regarding the comment that this is to 'chase out Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol,' the cautious approach to the Jungsucheong bill was already discussed within the party before Prosecutor General Yoon decided to resign. Without setting a specific deadline, various discussions and public consensus were emphasized multiple times by Yoon Ho-jung, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and other Democratic Party members, as far as I know."

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