Park Beom-gye "Reflecting maximum wishes on personnel of prosecutors including childcare issues"... Avoids direct answer on Lee Jae-yong's parole possibility

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, stated that the upcoming personnel reshuffle of prosecutors, expected as early as the 23rd, has maximally reflected the requests related to childcare issues of female prosecutors.

This remark is interpreted as a response to speculations that a large number of prosecutors involved in investigations related to the current administration, such as those at the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office or Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, might be replaced in the upcoming minor reshuffle affecting 30 to 40 prosecutors who have worked together for nearly two years at the same prosecution office.

On the morning of the day, Minister Park told reporters on his way to the Government Complex Gwacheon, "There is a possibility of a personnel reshuffle for prosecutors today, although it will not be large-scale."

He added, "The key point of this reshuffle is that we have almost fully accommodated the requests of the individuals themselves," and noted, "In the case of female prosecutors, we made efforts to reflect various requests such as childcare issues to the greatest extent possible."

Earlier, on the 21st, the Ministry of Justice held a Prosecutor Personnel Committee meeting at the Gwacheon Complex to discuss the principles and timing of the prosecutor personnel reshuffle.

Since a personnel reshuffle involving transfers and new appointments of 531 prosecutors was carried out earlier this year, the upcoming second-half reshuffle is expected to be a small-scale one involving around 30 to 40 prosecutors. The appointment date is reportedly set for early August.

Typically, when the Prosecutor Personnel Committee convenes, personnel announcements are made as early as the day of the meeting or within a day or two at the latest, making an announcement likely this afternoon.

Ahead of the reshuffle, some in the legal community speculated that following the mid-level prosecutor reshuffle last month, prosecutors involved in investigations related to the administration might be replaced in this reshuffle as well.

Meanwhile, Minister Park showed a cautious attitude when asked by reporters about the possibility of parole for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

In response to a reporter's question, "If the Parole Review Committee meeting scheduled for early next month deems Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's parole appropriate, would you, as the minister, accept it?" Park replied, "It is a hypothetical question, so it is difficult to answer."

He also stated, "It is difficult to officially confirm whether Lee Jae-yong has been placed on the parole review list."

Minister Park, who appeared at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session the previous day, was questioned about a special pardon for Vice Chairman Lee and said that he has not yet received any indication from President Moon Jae-in, adding, "So far, there are no special signs related to a special pardon."

However, regarding parole, he said, "While the parole system falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, whether to grant parole to a specific individual is not something I should comment on," but also mentioned that there is a guideline to grant parole on August 15 and that since his appointment, he has held the position that the parole rate should be significantly increased, leaving some room for interpretation.

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