Park Beom-gye "Prosecutor's Office Restructuring... Will Maintain Major Reform Framework While Exercising Flexibility"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, said regarding the prosecution organization reform plan, "We will maintain the overall framework of investigative authority reform while exercising flexibility to realistically reflect the situation," and added that he will soon meet with Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo for final consultations.

Minister Park made these remarks on the morning of the 16th as he arrived at the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Complex and spoke with reporters.

Earlier, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office expressed opposition to the Ministry of Justice's plan to amend the "Regulations on the Organization of the Prosecutors' Office," which would restrict direct investigations by the criminal divisions of local prosecutors' offices, stating that it may violate higher laws such as the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, and contradicts the Ministry's previously emphasized policy of strengthening and specializing the criminal divisions.

In particular, the clause requiring local branch offices to obtain the Minister's approval before initiating investigations was criticized as potentially seriously undermining the political neutrality and independence of the prosecution, making it difficult to accept.

In response, Minister Park said, "We will accept what is acceptable and reject what is not." Regarding the possibility of deleting the clause, he was reserved, saying, "We should wait and see the content."

He also stated that he plans to meet with Prosecutor General Kim within this week to reach a final agreement on the organizational reform plan. He said, "After finalizing the reform plan and passing it at the Cabinet meeting, we need to convene the prosecution personnel committee, so we must hurry," but added, "The timing of personnel appointments cannot be confirmed yet."

Meanwhile, regarding the successor to former Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, who resigned over the 'taxi driver assault' incident, he said, "That is up to the President," and added, "Since the vacancy should not be prolonged, we are also expediting the process."

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