Jo Eung-cheon "Minister of Justice wants a compliant prosecution... I doubt my ears"

Cho Eung-cheon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Jo Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, who mentioned 'alignment with the national administration philosophy' as a key requirement for the next Prosecutor General appointment, saying, "I am taken aback because the minister seems to have too coolly admitted that he wants a prosecution that listens well."

On the 24th, Representative Jo posted an article titled "Qualifications of the Prosecutor General" on his Facebook. He expressed disbelief at Minister Park's recent response to a question about the requirements for recommending a Prosecutor General candidate, where Park said, "The Prosecutor General is the head appointed by the president to lead the prosecution agency, so there is a strong correlation with the president's national administration philosophy."

He added, "I am truly concerned about what the minister thinks prosecution reform is."

Representative Jo criticized Minister Park's remarks, saying, "The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is an independent organization that does not belong to any of the three branches?legislative, judicial, or executive?and guarantees political neutrality. However, it is surprising that the first virtue of the Prosecutor General, who leads a much larger organization than the CIO and is closely related to the daily lives of the people, is 'alignment with the president's national administration philosophy.'"

He then stated that the most important condition or virtue for the Prosecutor General is "a firm will and courage to make fair decisions independent from political power," and urged, "The minister should establish new qualifications for the Prosecutor General to properly complete prosecution reform."

He also added, "The minister should reflect on whether his words and actions are providing significant momentum to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's presidential campaign."

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