Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye: "Abolishing the investigation control right is premature... There is no equation that 'prosecutorial independence equals investigation fairness'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, expressed his opposition to the abolition of the investigative command authority of the Ministry of Justice Minister, a campaign promise made by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, stating, "I oppose it and think it is premature," effectively taking a stance against it.

In a media interview on the 14th, Minister Park said, "I do not believe that abolishing the investigative command authority guarantees the political neutrality of the prosecution or the fairness of investigations." He added, "If the investigative command authority is removed, there will be no way to verify decisions or investigation results at the prosecution's frontline, and disputes over fairness will worsen," emphasizing, "There is no equation that the prosecution's independence leads to fair investigations."

He continued, "Democratic improvement of the prosecution's organizational culture must be established for independence to lead to political neutrality and fairness in investigations."

President-elect Yoon announced the abolition of the investigative command authority of the Ministry of Justice Minister as part of his judicial campaign promises last month. To do this, it seems necessary to first amend or repeal Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act. According to this article, the investigative command authority states that "The Minister of Justice, as the highest supervisor of prosecutorial affairs, generally directs and supervises prosecutors, and only the Prosecutor General directs and supervises specific cases."

Since the enactment of the Prosecutors' Office Act in 1949, this authority has been exercised only once (in 2005), making its use extremely limited. However, former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae exercised the investigative command authority twice in 2020 while President-elect Yoon was serving as Prosecutor General. Minister Park Beom-gye also exercised it once afterward.

Minister Park explained, "The content of former Minister Chu's investigative command authority was related to the details of cases," adding, "There was no investigative command targeting power or the Blue House, such as in the investigations of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant (suspected manipulation of economic feasibility evaluation) or the Ulsan (mayoral election interference) case. My investigative command also pertained to procedural guidance."

Regarding President-elect Yoon's pledge to institutionalize the Prosecutor General's independent annual budget planning and requests to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to guarantee the prosecution's independence and political neutrality, Minister Park said that "transparency must be a prerequisite."

Minister Park stated, "The formation, demand, and execution of the prosecution's budget are currently carried out through the Ministry of Justice without significant control," and added, "Transparency regarding special activity funds (teukhwalbi) must be guaranteed for the independence of budget formation to be positively considered." He explained, "Currently, administrative lawsuits related to special activity funds are ongoing, and transparency is insufficient."

On the controversy over introducing a special prosecutor (teukgeum) for the Daejang-dong development lobbying and preferential treatment allegations, he said, "The last presidential election was called a 'legal profession election' because several current issue cases were major topics," adding, "It is unfortunate for the country and the people that this issue remains unresolved and continues to be a source of controversy even in the 20th presidential administration."

He emphasized, "An objective and fair fact-finding that no side can dispute is truly necessary."

Regarding concerns that the ongoing prosecution and police investigative authority adjustments and prosecution reform policies might be completely overturned, Minister Park added, "The overall trend will not change, and I believe the President-elect will respect it."

Minister Park showed a positive response to the reactivation of the Blue House Special Inspection Officer system promoted by President-elect Yoon, saying, "There have been continuous disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties over the nomination of special inspection officer candidates, so it has not been implemented, but it is a quite meaningful system."

The Special Inspection Officer system was introduced in 2014 to prevent corruption among the President's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree, and senior officials at the level of Blue House Chief Secretaries or higher. However, after the first Special Inspection Officer, Lee Seok-su, resigned in 2016 amid allegations of leaking inspection contents, the position remained vacant throughout the Moon Jae-in administration.

Regarding prosecutors to be dispatched to the Presidential Transition Committee, Minister Park said, "It is under the jurisdiction of the transition committee, and we recommended appropriate personnel upon request," but refrained from providing specific details.

Concerning the extraordinary two rounds of parole conducted last month at correctional facilities, he announced additional parole implementation, saying, "We will do it once more (this month)." The Ministry of Justice held a parole review committee on the 11th and decided to conduct the March regular parole on the 17th.

On whether he will continue to serve as Minister until the new government takes office, Minister Park said, "I will complete my term with the President and have no intention of running in the local elections."

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