Park Beom-gye "Will Recommend Prosecutor General Candidate to President Moon Next Week"… "No Strong Candidate at Present"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee has recommended four former and current high prosecutors as candidates for the next Prosecutor General. On the 30th, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye announced that he would recommend a candidate for the next Prosecutor General to President Moon Jae-in next week.

On the day marking his 100th day in office, Minister Park appeared on Yonhap News TV's 'News 1st District' and said, "The president's will for the political neutrality of the prosecution is very strong."

When asked about the timing of the final candidate recommendation, Minister Park replied, "The right to recommend the Prosecutor General is a procedural supplement to the president's personnel authority. I will take sufficient time to fulfill my duty, but I plan to recommend to the president in some form next week."

He seemed aware of the situation where some raised the possibility that former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo might be the final candidate among the four, pointing out Kim's 'political bias,' and drew a line by saying, "At present, I do not think there is a leading candidate."

Regarding the exclusion of Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Sung-yoon from the candidate pool, he said, "I understand that the recommendation committee mentioned various factors such as capabilities and integrity. I do not know the exact reasons for that conclusion, but I respect the committee's decision," avoiding a direct answer.

Minister Park, who will mark his 100th day in office on the 7th of next month, smiled and said, "Since my inauguration, there have been very difficult times, like being on the edge of a cliff, but now I think people are gradually recognizing my sincerity."

Meanwhile, before appearing on the broadcast that day, Minister Park responded to reporters' questions about the timing of the Prosecutor General candidate recommendation on his way to work, saying, "At least not today (the 30th). I think the president, who holds the personnel authority, should deliberate more carefully to exercise that authority well."

When asked whether he would recommend a candidate aligned with the president's state philosophy, he replied, "Our country is a presidential system. The depoliticization of the prosecution is President Moon's belief, which I have observed for nearly 20 years."

He added, "Now is the stage to deliberate, so it is difficult to speak specifically. If there is an opportunity after the recommendation, I will explain the criteria."

Regarding the expectation inside and outside the prosecution that former Deputy Minister Kim is the most likely candidate, he retorted, "If he were the leading candidate, there would be no reason to deliberate carefully."

The day before, the Prosecutor General Recommendation Committee recommended four candidates to Minister Park: former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo, Gwangju High Prosecutor Gu Bon-seon, Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute Bae Seong-beom, and Deputy Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan. If Minister Park recommends one of them, President Moon will appoint the candidate.

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